Sister Who Lived: Prisoner of Azkaban
by sweethearts together
Summary: Grace Potter has always accepted that her little brother, Harry was the only decent family she had left until her fifth year at Hogwarts when someone from her parents' past turns up. Cuz that's just what a rebellious fifteen-year-old needs. Third in my Sister Who Lived series.
1. Go Your Own Way

**Welcome back my lovely readers, or anybody who has stumbled upon this story. This is the third instalment in my Sister Who Lived series. You don't have to go back and read the first two but it might make more sense if you do. **

**Disclaimer: As always I don't own anything but my OCs. **

Chapter 1: Go Your Own Way

"That's a load of bull!" Grace shouted across the kitchen table at Privet drive. "You're saying that I have to stay in my room for a whole week because you're good-for-nothing sister is coming?"

Uncle Vernon's moustache bristled over the newspaper he was desperately trying to ignore Grace with, although by the way the vein in his forehead was growing, it wasn't working. The argument had started from the second Grace had descended the stairs, yawning and running a hand through her ruffled red hair, when Uncle Vernon had announced that Aunt Marge would be staying for the whole week. She had dropped her freshly buttered toast in shock before he went on to say that Grace would stay out of sight the whole week.

"It's that or find somewhere else to stay," Uncle Vernon replied.

"Where _else _am I supposed to stay?" Grace inquired.

"I'm sure Mrs Figgs wouldn't mind having you stay," Aunt Petunia suggested as though she was trying to stop the fight from happening. Grace simply shot her a withering look.

"How come I have to get out of the house anyway?" Grace questioned, directly at Uncle Vernon. "Do I smell or something?"

With a great huff of breath Uncle Vernon folded down his paper to point a pudgy finger at Grace, waving it around as he spoke.

"Your aunt is expecting to have a peaceful week with her nephew and all you'll do is ruin that for us! Every visit that your Aunt has made you've made some smart-ass comment for no reason. If you can't treat her with respect, I will not have you around her at all."

"She's not even my aunt!" Grace exploded. The whole situation was unfair to her, from the fact that she wasn't even related to the damn women to how she would be missing Harry's birthday. "Seriously, you're either joking or a complete jackass!"

"Watch your mouth, girl," Uncle Vernon snarled.

Grace raised her eyebrows. To her, with her fiery temper and inability to close her mouth, that was a challenge inviting her to say more. Ultimately it was a better idea to just shut up in the Dursley household but Grace wasn't exactly good at that.

Which was how she ended up on Mrs Figgs' front lawn with her school trunk and dull anger still burning in her chest.

**Please review with any comments, questions or advice!**


	2. Here We Go

**Enjoy!**

Chapter Two-Here We Go

Grace lay on the stuffy old bed in Ms Figgs' stuffy old spare room. She really shouldn't complain. Ms Figgs' could be a lovely lady and she treated Grace with much more respect than the Dursleys ever did.

But the fact still remained that it was unfair. She would much rather be spending the time with Harry for his birthday. How Grace was going to live out the week she wasn't sure. All she wanted to do was return to Hogwarts. Even the Burrow. _Somewhere _with magic. Here, Grace couldn't even take out her homework without triple checking that Ms Figgs wasn't around.

"Gracie, dear," the lady in question called out. "Dinner time."

Grace sighed, flipping her way off the bed and making her way out into the dimly lit room, hidden away from any rays of sun. At least the food here was good.

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphp

Friday night Ms Figgs decided to put together a special dinner for Grace so that she and the cats could farewell her. Apparently it was an extravagant affair, for Ms Figgs wore her nicest scarves and pearls, even bestowing a string of them on Grace that she said were 'just lying around.'

Laid out on the table were china plates topped with roast chickens, boiled peas, mashed potatoes and steaming gravy boats. Various cats could be seen around the room; curled up on chairs, brushing against Grace's legs, purring in front of the roaring fire. There was even a snow-white kitten on the couch that reminded Grace of Bellus.

"It's been so lovely having you here, Grace, dear," Ms Figgs gushed. "I wish you didn't have to leave for that school all the time. It's so much nicer having someone around to talk to rather than those scallywags from Stonewall High."

"Oh Ms Figgs, I'm sure those kids aren't that bad. Besides the school I go to is better than anything around here."

"Oh I know it is darling," Ms Figgs smiled knowingly.

Grace frowned and continued serving some potato, unsure whether Ms Figgs _really _didn't like the nearby school or knew something about Hogwarts. The thought confused her- Grace hated Little Whinging but she thought that every other Muggle around here loved it. She wasn't even sure why Ms Figgs liked her that much; almost everyone in the neighbourhood thought that something was wrong with her and Harry. It wasn't that she minded being outcast so much- actually she preferred it around here, but it was a change when somebody _did _like her.

"Are you finished, dear? Would you mind calling in the outside cats while I get the cake out?"

"Of course, Ms Figgs, I'll be right back."

Grace shook the cat from her leg and dodged around a couple others. She snatched up the bag of cat treats by the front door, stepping outside into the cool summer breeze.

All of the cats had gathered, slinking back inside after a treat, when she saw him. Sitting on a low wall on a few houses down was a figure that Grace could never mistake, hunched over with his wand twirling in his hands and trunk by his feet. Immediately Grace felt a surge of panic for her little brother. He wouldn't be sitting out here alone with all of his stuff without having been kicked out of Privet Drive.

Without another thought, the cat food had dropped from Grace's hands and she was racing back inside to her temporary bedroom. It only took a couple of seconds for her to put her belongings back in her trunk and haul it back downstairs with a rushed goodbye and thank you to Ms Figgs before dashing out the door again.

"Harry! What happened?" Grace asked as soon as she had arrived at the spot Harry was sitting.

"I blew up Aunt Marge," he muttered.

"As in ka-boom or-" Grace questioned, demonstrating an explosion with her hands and taking a seat next to Harry.

"Like a great, big balloon," Harry clarified. "So I left."

"And just left me at Ms Figgs'?" Grace raised her eyebrows but rushed to explain as she saw the look on Harry's face. "Not that she's not a lovely old lady but I can't live with that many cats and anyway what I meant was that you should tell me so that if you're going somewhere we can go together."

Harry just shook his head, looking across the street at the dark shadows. "Do you think I'll get expelled, Grace?"

The question knocked Grace off guard, who had barely been thinking about the implications of blowing up Aunt Marge apart from what Uncle Vernon would say. Harry was only thirteen. Sure he had broken a few rules occasionally but they wouldn't expel him. Would they?

"No, of course not," Grace grinned, hiding her concerns. "That's just ridiculous!"

But Harry wasn't listening anymore. His eyes were narrowed behind his glasses, frowning at something in the alleyway opposite them.

"Can you see that dog?" Harry pointed.

There was nothing there when Grace flicked her eyes away from Harry.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," she said, tugging on Harry's arm. "Hannah told me about a magic bus we can use." She threw out right arm out on to the road, holding it out there as if she was trying to get a hitchhike until- BANG- a triple-decker purple bus skidded to a screeching halt in front of them, having appeared at Grace's call. The gold lettering across the windshield confirmed it was indeed the infamous Knight Bus.

While Harry was staring bewildered at the bus, the conductor, an eighteen-year-old pimpling boy in purple, leapt out and spoke to the night.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shun-pike, and I will be your conductor this evening."

"How much is it to get to London?" Grace said briskly.

"Eleven Sickles," said Stan, "but for firteen you get 'ot chocolate, and for fifteen you get an 'ot waterbottle an' a toofbrush in the colour of your choice."

Grace rummaged around in her bag, shoved some gold in her bag and turned to lift Harry's trunk.

"C'mon," Grace nudged Harry to help her. Together they balanced Hedwig's cage on top and lifted his trunk onto the bus while Stan hauled up Grace's trunk. Inside the bus was lit by bright candles in brackets along the wall, revealing the brass beds that replaced normal bus chairs. One man near the door was fast asleep, talking merrily to himself.

"You 'ave this one," Stan said, lowering his voice and shoving Grace's trunk under the bed right behind the driver. "This is our driver, Ernie Prang. Ern, this is- what did you say your names were?"

"Ciara and Rhys," Grace blurted out the first wizarding brother and sister she thought of. She wasn't sure why; just something had put her on edge.

Ernie, an elderly man in thick glasses, gave them a slight nod that Grace returned with a tight smile. She noticed Harry unsuccessfully trying to flatten his hair over his scar out of the corner of her eye but stopped sheepishly once she caught his eye. They both sat on the edge on their bed.

"Take 'er away, Ern," Stan said, taking the vacant armchair for himself.

This time the bus's loud BANG startled Grace, throwing her on top of Harry as the bus sped along the road. She rolled off her brother and sat up again, ignoring Stan's gaze.

"London?" Harry whispered to Grace.

"First magical place I thought of," Grace shrugged. "We can stay at the Leaky Cauldron or something and get a taxi to the station."

"How come the Muggles don't hear the bus?"

"Must be some kind of Muggle repelling charm," Grace answered, glancing out the window at a farmhouse jumping out of their way. "And a charm to stop crashes."

A second later, Grace grabbed Harry when Ernie slammed on the brakes, causing them to skid a couple of metres before they stopped. After a green looking witch departed the bus, her luggage thrown after her, the bus made another loud BANG and reappeared somewhere in the country. Grace dearly wished she had something other than Harry to hold onto. It almost was a comfort just to be able to sit with him, having had a week apart.

In front of them, Stan was reading the _Daily Prophet_ with his tongue between his teeth.

"That man!" Harry said, looking at the front page at an image of dirty looking man staring straight at them in his prison-stripped rages. "He was on the Muggle news!"

"Sirius Black," Stan said, nodding. "'Course 'e was on the Muggle news, Rhys, where you been? You oughta read the papers more, Rhys."

He handed Harry the front page of the paper and continued reading from where he was up to. Grace looked over Harry's shoulder at the article, detailing the man's escape from the wizard prison and the massacre that landed him there. Grace recoiled away from the picture at the thought of what he had done.

"Scary-lookin' fing, inee?" said Stan, voicing Grace's thoughts.

"He murdered thirteen people?" said Harry, handing the page back to Stan, "with one curse?"

"Yep," said Stan, "in front of witnesses an' all. Broad daylight. Big trouble it caused, dinnit, Ern?"

"Ar," said Ern darkly.

Stan swivelled in his armchair, his hands on the back, the better to look at Harry. "Black woz a big supporter of You-Know-'Oo," he said.

"What, Voldemort?" said Harry.

Even Stan's pimples went white. Ernie jumped about a foot in the air.

"You outta your tree?" yelped Stan. "'Choo say 'is name for?"

"Sorry," said Harry hastily. "Sorry, I-I forgot -"

"Forgot!" said Stan weakly. "Blimey, my 'eart's goin' that fast ... "

Grace almost laughed. "So Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who?"

"Yeah," said Stan, his face slowly regaining colour. "Yeah, that's right. Very close to You-Know-'Oo, they say. Anyway, when little 'Arry Potter got the better of You-Know-'Oo -" Grace had a sideways glance at her brother. "- all You-Know-'Oo's supporters was tracked down, wasn't they, Ern? Most of 'em knew it was all over, wiv You-Know-'Oo gone, and they came quiet. But not Sirius Black. I 'eard he thought 'e'd be second-in-command once You-Know-'Oo 'ad taken over. Anyway, they cornered Black in the middle of a street full of Muggles an' Black took out 'is wand and 'e blasted 'alf the street apart, an' a wizard got it, an' so did a dozen Muggles what got in the way. 'Orrible, eh? An' you know what Black did then?" Stan continued in a dramatic whisper.

"What?" said Harry and Grace.

"Laughed," said Stan. "Jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when reinforcements from the Ministry of Magic got there, 'e went wiv em quiet as anyfink, still laughing 'is 'ead off. 'Cos 'e's mad, inee, Ern? Inee mad?"

"If he weren't when he went to Azkaban, he will be now," said Ernie in his slow voice. "I'd blow meself up before I set foot in that place. Serves him right, mind you ... After what he did... "

Grace could almost agree with the old man.

"They 'ad a job coverin' it up, din' they, Ern?" Stan said. "'Ole street blown up an' all them Muggles dead. What was it they said ad 'appened, Ern?"

"Gas explosion," grunted Ernie.

"An' now 'e's out," said Stan, examining the newspaper picture of Black's face once again. "Never been a breakout from Azkaban before, 'as there, Ern? Beats me 'ow 'e did it. Frightenin', eh? Mind, I don't fancy 'is chances against them Azkaban guards, eh, Ern?"

Ernie suddenly shivered. "Talk about summat else, Stan, there's a good lad. Them Azkaban guards give me the collywobbles."

Grace could only imagine what was so bad it made a man shiver at the sound. The whole story made her want to crawl under the covers of the bed. As it was, she was scared. And worried from the moment she saw Harry sitting on that little wall. She wasn't exactly planning on taking the bus to London tonight. She had hoped to be back in the magical community as soon as they could be but not in this way. Even though she said it was ridiculous that he would get expelled, the back on her mind said it was quite a real possibility.

For a split second Grace wondered whether Ciara would be offended she used her name to hide her own.

Grace moved to lie against the pillow, watching all of the different parts of the country flash past the windows through the night. Every other passenger eventually descended the stairs, wearing nightgowns and night caps, usually in varying degrees of green. Finally Stan was asking 'Rhys' where exactly in London they wanted to be dropped off and a second later they were speeding down Charing Cross Road, skidding right in front of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Thank you," Grace said to Ernie as she tugged her trunk down to the curb after Stan and Harry. She was about to say more but walked straight into Harry's back. Both of them had stopped on the stairs of the bus, looking at the portly, official-looking man in front of them.

"Rhys?" he repeated, frowning. "This is Harry Potter."

"And who are you?" Grace interrupted shoving through an excited Stan to stand beside her brother.

"I am Cornelius Fudge, Grace. The Minister of Magic. Well, I'm very glad you had the sense to summon the Knight bus but we really need to be heading inside the Leaky Cauldron now."

"Oh- oh okay sure," Grace stammered.

She followed Harry and Fudge into the Leaky Cauldron passing by the pub's wizened old caretaker, Tom on her way. Part of her felt lost trailing after the pair, barely aware of anything going on around her, only of Fudge's hand keeping a tight grip on Harry's shoulder. Somehow she raised her hand up and waved to Stan and Ernie before moving into a small, brightly-lit parlour.

"Sit down, sit down," Fudge gestured to the sofa by the fire.

Grace gingerly took the seat next to Harry. Tom came back into the room, an apron thrown over his head, carrying a try of crumpets and tea which he laid down on the table between Fudge and the Potters.

"Well, Harry," said Fudge, pouring himself tea, "you've had us all in a right flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that! I'd started to think... But you're safe, your sister found you and that's what matters."

Grace's brow furrowed. What would Harry need to be safe from?

"Eat, you both look dead on your feet. Now then ... You will be pleased to hear that we have dealt with the unfortunate blowing-up of Miss Marjorie Dursley. Two members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Department were dispatched to Privet Drive a few hours ago. Miss Dursley has been punctured and her memory has been modified. She has no recollection of the incident at all. So that's that; and no harm done."

A wave of relief washed over Grace yet the way the minster was treating Harry still confused her. It was almost as though they were pampering him; keeping him away from danger.

"Ah, you're worrying about the reaction of your aunt and uncle?" said Fudge. "Well, I won't deny that they are extremely angry, Harry, but they are prepared to take both of you back next summer as long as you stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas and Easter holidays."

"We do that anyway, sir," Grace said. "Can't we go somewhere else for the summer though? Anywhere else?"

"Now, now, I'm sure you'll feel differently once you've calmed down," said Fudge in a worried tone. "They are your family, after all, and I'm sure you are fond of each other-er-very deep down."

Grace choked back a laugh.

"Hang on," blurted Harry. "What about my punishment? I broke the law! The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry."

"Harry!" Grace said. "Just forget about it!"

"Oh, my dear boy, we're not going to punish you for a little thing like that!" cried Fudge, waving his crumpet impatiently. "It was an accident! We don't send people to Azkaban just for blowing up their aunts! Besides circumstances change, Harry ... We have to take into account... In the present climate ... Surely you don't want to be expelled?"

"Of course I don't!" said Harry.

"Well then, what's all the fuss about?" laughed Fudge. "Now, have a crumpet, Harry, while I go and see if Tom's got a room for you."

As soon as he was gone, Grace turned to her brother.

"Harry, why did you _want _to tell him about what you did?"

"I broke the law didn't I? It would be wrong to just ignore that."

"You're a better person than I ever will be," Grace remarked with a shake of her head. "You don't regret blowing her up do you?"

"Nah, she deserved that. And it was a bit funny. Uncle Vernon was trying to bring her back down but Ripper kept biting his ankle."

"Merlin, I wish I'd seen it!"

"Room eleven and twelve are free," said Fudge, coming back into the room with Tom. "I think you'll be very comfortable. Just one thing; and I'm sure you'll understand ... I don't want you wandering off into Muggle London, all right? Keep to Diagon Alley. And you're to be back here before dark each night. Sure you'll understand. Tom will be keeping an eye on you for me."

"Why? Is there some sort of danger?" Grace asked.

"No, no; just don't want to lose you again," the minister said, laughing heartedly. "Best we know where you are.

"Have you had any luck with Sirius Black yet, sir?" Harry asked.

Fudge almost dropped his cloak at Harry's words.

"What's that? Oh, you've heard; well, no, not yet, but it's only a matter of time. The Azkaban guards have never yet failed ... And they are angrier than I've ever seen them. Well this is good bye then."

Grace took his offered hand, shaking it one, and left the room, glad to be away from the odd man. Harry took another minute to join her. Following Tom up the stairs, they made it to rooms eleven and twelve, right across from each other.

"I've taken the liberty to move all of your things up to your rooms for you," Tom told them. "Ms Potter, room twelve."

"Thank you," Grace smiled. "Night, Harry."

She gave her brother a small hug and entered the room behind her. There was a large, comfortable bed, polished wood nightstands and wardrobe and a soft, colourful rug in front of the fire.

Grace walked over the small window, gazing out at Diagon Alley. There were no shoppers running through the streets at this time of night but Grace could still see the shadows of the day: shop-owners dousing their upstairs lights for the final time, discarded rubbish blowing through the streets and cats slinking around the leftovers that had been left.

**Please review with any comments, questions or advice.**


	3. We Say Summer

**This chapter took me longer than I thought it would. I kept getting really stuck on small things. Hopefully I've corrected anything that doesn't sound good.**

Chapter Three- We Say Summer

Grace had never before experienced this much freedom. Even at Hogwarts, she couldn't do whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. No Uncle was around to tell her to stop being an impertinent brat or Aunt to make her clean up every speck of dust around her. She spent the days strolling Diagon Alley with Harry, soaking in all of magic around them then staying up late in the Leaky Cauldron, watching the different, unique people pass through the pub.

As content as she was within the boundaries of the Leaky Cauldron, Grace couldn't help but think about how short of a walk it was to Miranda's house. Yet Grace didn't even have to break her promise to Fudge to be able to see her friends. While walking down the stairs for breakfast late on her last day there, having decided to sleep in, she heard a very familiar, unmistakeable laugh ring through the air.

Perched by the window at the back of the pub, Miranda Heathridge was laughing loud enough to attract attention and almost falling off her chair. Around her, looking on ludicrously, were Hannah Guptan, Trina Davenport, Lara Costalosis and Ciara Archer. Grace approached her friends silently.

"I'm not sure whether you're laughing or dying right now," she commented, standing behind Miranda.

Trina jumped in surprise and promptly fell off her chair. Everyone gasped in surprise and started to greet Grace who hugged all of her friends tightly in return.

"What are you doing here?" Trina cried, having found her seat again. "I sent you a letter through Muggle post but you never replied."

"I've been here for two weeks!" Grace replied. "Harry and I left Privet drive after he turned our Aunt into a giant balloon. I even used Ciara's name to get on the Knight Bus."

She was met with shocked silence, broken by Ciara snickering.

"What? She deserved it!"

"Was Harry expelled? I mean did the Ministry do anything?" Hannah asked worriedly.

"No," Grace shook her head. "It was weird. Like the Minister of Magic was waiting here for us and said nothing about him breaking the law."

"I wouldn't trust anything that bloody minister says though. He and most of the ministry are a bunch of fools," Ciara seethed. "Every one of them claims that the wizarding world is more accepting of Muggleborns and half-bloods than it used to be but you go and see how many of the Ministry workers are born from a Muggle family!"

Grace exchanged a look with Miranda, trying to hide a smile at her friend's strong opinions.

"Guess what guys?" Lara grinned, changing the subject skilfully. "I got a prefect's badge with my Hogwarts letter!"

A round of congratulations went around the table. Lara accepted them all humbly, still happy at her own news.

"You know Fred and George will try to take advantage of this, right?" Grace acknowledged. "They'll think that you won't give them detentions or anything."

Before Lara could deny that she'd ever do such a thing, Miranda spoke up, "Speaking of Fred and George, they're arriving here this afternoon."

"How do they like Egypt?" Hannah said.

"From what I've heard, they've so far managed to lock Percy in a tomb, scare their tour guide with a fake skeleton and find an Egyptian joke shop," Miranda replied with a smile.

"They locked Percy in a tomb?" Grace repeated incredulously.

"He's one thing I'm not looking forward to about being a prefect," Lara said. "He makes me want to tear my hair out piece by piece."

"We all feel the same Lala," Trina said sympathetically, patting Lara's shoulder.

"We should probably get going," Ciara announced, standing up. "We still have to buy all of our school supplies before the end of the day."

"I'll come with you," Grace said. "I've only managed to get half of my school books."

"And you've only been staying here for what- two weeks?" Lara confirmed.

Grace scowled at her friend. While her friends paid for their meal at the bar, Grace rushed upstairs to grab her bag, money and book list. Pretty soon they were waltzing down Diagon Alley towards Gringotts bank, basking in the sunlight and catching up on all the holiday gossip. This time, when Grace entered Flourish and Botts, she managed not to get distracted by books that weren't on their list. Even so Miranda had to drag her away from the new releases.

For the rest of the morning they went to the apothecary to stock up their potions supplies, the magical menagerie for cat food, _Madam Malkin's_ for new school robes and _Witches Essentials_ where they each needed new products. They were just on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch when Ciara stopped dead in front of _Quality Quidditch Supplies_.

"Oh my god look it's the new broom!" she exclaimed, acting like every other awestruck boy that was pressing their nose against the glass. Grace moved closer and peered at the sign below the magnificent broom.

*THE FIREBOLT*

THIS STATE-OF-THE-ART PACING BROOM SPORTS A STREAM-LINED, SUPERFINE HANDLE OF ASH, TREATED WITH A DIAMOND-HARD POLISH AND HAND NUMBERED WITH ITS OWN REGISTRATION NUMBER. EACH INDIVIDUALLY SELECTED BIRCH TWIG IN THE BROOMTAIL HAS BEEN HONED TO AERODYNAMIC PERFECTION, GIVING THE FIREBOLT UNSURPASSABLE BALANCE AND PINPOINT PRECISION. THE FIREBOLT HAS AN ACCELERATION OF 150 MILES AN HOUR IN TEN SECONDS AND INCORPORATES AN UNBREAKABLE BRAKING CHARM. PRICE ON REQUEST.

"Well that sounds . . . nice?" Trina said, shrugging at Grace, Lara and Miranda.

"Nice? It's beautiful!" Hannah corrected wistfully. "Not that either of us could afford it."

Lara, Miranda, Trina and Grace shook their heads at the two Quidditch try-hards. Finally they dragged them, literally, to the Leaky Cauldron, where Trina, Lara and Hannah's parents were waiting to pick them up; some looking uncomfortable at being Muggles in such a magical place.

"Eleven 'o' clock tomorrow," Lara told them with a hug. "Come early so we can get a good carriage."

"And bring money for the sweets trolley," Trina added, wrapping her arms around each of them.

Once Hannah, Trina and Lara were out of the door, waving until out of sight, Grace, Miranda and Ciara ate their lunch in the middle of the pub.

"So how's Lee going?" Grace queried.

Ciara buried herself in her lunch, her deep blue eyes looking anywhere but her friends and her mouth remained shut tight.

"I'd say they're going pretty damn well," Miranda observed.

"You know, after two years, I would've thought you'd get over the embarrassment of us asking questions," Grace said.

"You can never get over that," Ciara objected. "And it's just – well – never mind."

"Something up?" Miranda guessed.

"Nah, I'm just thinking about things too much," Ciara denied. Miranda and Grace caught each other's eyes, frowning slightly. "It's our last day of summer. Let's just forget about it until we get back to school."

At that moment, the pub doors swung open, letting in blinding rays of sunlight and a hoard of red-headed Weasley children, accompanied by their parents and Hermione Granger.

"George, I already told you to stop," fumed Percy, both his horn-rimmed glasses and new Head Boy badge looking as though they were freshly polished. "If you don't right now, I'll-"

"Give me detention?" George suggested, his eyes twinkling. "Or just report me to mum?"

"Now, now, George we really must respect Percy," Fred chastised; the sarcasm heavy in his voice. "He must be treated like a king after all."

"Why, Fred I forgot we were related to such royalty," George said, following along. "Percy is the highest kind of them all."

"King of Prats!" the twins said together, cackling at their own joke.

Grace, Ciara and Miranda walked over then, just as Mrs Weasley scolded the twins for their foolish behaviour. She looked as though the journey from Egypt trapped with Percy and the twins had exhausted her beyond repair. Her reprimands at the twins didn't contain their usual gusto and, for once, Grace wasn't scared of an angry Mrs Weasley. It wouldn't last that long though; she was sure.

"Just stay out of trouble while you put your bags away?" Mrs Weasley sighed.

"I'm sure I can help with that, Mrs Weasley," Grace spoke up, turning the Weasley's attention to her, Ciara and Miranda.

"Oh, Gracie, dear," Mrs Weasley beamed, taking Grace's face in her hands. "It's such a pleasure to see you. And Harry, too?"

"He's in Diagon Alley," Grace said, partially directing Ron and Hermione. "Not sure where."

"Ciara and Miranda. How have your holidays been? Your families are all well?" Mrs Weasley questioned. Ciara and Miranda each nodded and smiled. "You all _must _come shopping with us later."

"Mum, lay off a bit," Fred interjected. "Give the girls some air."

"They're our friends and haven't even said hello to us yet," George complained.

Grace looked over Mrs Weasley's shoulder at her identical, mischievous friends and smirked, "Guess I've got my priorities right then." She laughed at the appalled looks on their faces and wrapped her arms around them. "I missed you two."

"I'd love to come with you Mrs Weasley but I have to be home soon," Ciara apologized.

"I was supposed to be home an hour ago," Miranda cringed. "I should be heading off now."

"Well, we'll see you tomorrow then," Mrs Weasley said, the wide smile never leaving her face.

"Mr Weasley, mum said to remind you about the dinner she's having for Ministry workers on Thursday," Ciara called as she headed towards the door. "See you tomorrow."

"See you then," Miranda said, following Ciara.

"How about that shopping then?" Mrs Weasley asked Grace.

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That night for dinner was the perfect way to end the holidays. Tom pushed three tables together for the Weasleys, Potters and Hermione to work their way through an amazing five course dinner.

Grace had squished herself between Fred and George at one end of the table opposite Harry, Hermione and Ron. Currently Harry was telling the story of how they had left Privet Drive after he had blown up Aunt Marge.

"Where were you in all of this, Grace?" Hermione enquired. "You seem to appear straight after Harry leaves your Aunt and Uncle's place."

Grace poked her casserole around, avoiding the eyes of those around her.

"I may have left a week earlier after getting in an argument with Uncle Vernon," she mumbled.

"You called him a worthless bigot who resembled a whale with a moustache," Harry said. The twins cackled mercilessly, Ron choked on a piece of chicken and even Hermione smiled a bit.

"We've been rubbing off on you," Fred said, wiping one eye. "We're so proud."

"You're helping us with our next prank," George said, the troublesome grin back on his face. "I'm thinking Percy's ego needs deflating."

"Well if you get his badge I think I have an idea," Grace said slowly, making sure no one was listening. It only took a second for the twins' faces to light up at the prospect of messing with their brother.

That was how Grace ended up crouched in the shadows of the landing as Fred and George heaved with laughter, her full stomach lulling her to bed and her bags packed for the morning, casting a charm on Percy's Head Boy badge so that it read Bighead boy.

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The next morning Grace woke early. She descended the stairs into the pub for the last time. Mr Weasley was reading the Daily Prophet, a frown forming on his face while Mrs Weasley, Hermione and Ginny sat by the bar, eating waffles. Grace joined them, pouring herself a large mug of steaming hot chocolate.

"I'm so glad to be going back to Hogwarts," Grace sighed. "It's just not the same when you're not sleeping in Gryffindor Tower."

"Oh I remember being a young girl at Hogwarts," Mrs Weasley said wistfully. "The things we did then."

"What did you do, mum?" Ginny questioned eagerly.

"Well there was this one love potion I made," Mrs Weasley explained, her cheeks growing redder with every word of the story. Ginny, Hermione and Grace giggled more and more as she spoke.

It took the Weasleys, Potters and Hermione a while to get organised enough to leave; what with how long it took to drag each trunk downstairs to pile them by the door then calm down Hermione's new cat enough to lock it in a wicker basket. Fred and George were still cheerful from last night's prank especially towards Grace. It was lucky for them that they wouldn't have to share a Ministry car with Percy, rather taking the second one with Ginny and Mrs Weasley.

"Man, I don't see Muggles complain about travelling in cars," George said when they had crossed half of London in five minutes.

"George you know these cars are enchanted right?" Grace told him. "Muggle cars aren't this great. But I do think it would make things easier one day."

Fred and George looked at her like she was mad.

Somehow it only took them a couple more minutes to reach King's Cross, proving Grace's assumption that the cars were enchanted.

"Right then," Mr Weasley said, once they were dropped off and their trunks unstacked. "Let's do this in pairs, as there are so many of us. I'll go through first with Harry."

Grace waited until last to go through with Mrs Weasley. She joined Fred and George almost immediately, linking arms with them, waving goodbye to Mr and Mrs Weasley and boarding the express to search for the carriage with all of their other friends.

**Thanks for reading!**

**Please review with any comments, questions or advice. **


	4. Cloud Nine

Chapter Four- Cloud Nine

Grace, Fred and George made their way down the Hogwarts Express, looking through the glass windows on the doors to compartments until they heard Lee's loud voice echoing down the corridor, followed by the laughs of the girls who were no doubt clinging on to every word. They walked towards the source of his voice, ending up at the door of a compartment where the rest of the Gryffindor fifth years sat.

In the middle of one side of the seats sat Lee; his dreadlocks even longer than Grace remembered, with Ciara lounging on his lap while he animatedly told of Quidditch adventures that summer. Around him, sprawled out as leisurely as possible, were Miranda, Trina, Hannah and Lara. Jesse looked on from a window seat in the corner, casually watching over the entertainment with an air of amusement.

"Hey now Lee, are you stealing our thunder?" Fred questioned from the door.

"Someone's got to make people laugh when you're not around," Lee admitted, raising his arms.

"Fred! George!" Trina squealed. She leapt up from her seat, crushing the twins' in a gripping bear-hug.

"Lee, you shouldn't tell them they're funny," Grace said, hauling her trunk onto the racks above their heads and taking the space beside Jesse who acknowledged her with a smile and nod. "It only feeds their ego."

"Oh, of course, I forgot," Lee said, smacking his forehead and grinning at Grace. "Nice to see you, Grace."

"As hilarious as you all are, I have to go to the Prefects' meeting," Lara said. She struggled to disentangle herself from knot of limbs and clothes that she, Hannah and Trina had created and duck under the trunks Fred and George were putting away.

"Hang on, if the rest of the Gryffindors are right here, who's the boy prefect?" Hannah asked.

"Kenneth Towler," Lara stated, scowling deeply. "Sorry but the sooner I get there the sooner I can leave."

She turned and left the compartment, her long brown hair flipping over her shoulder, as Fred and George flopped down on either side of Ciara and Lee.

"Poor Lara," Miranda said. "I'd hate to spend too much time with that snobby prat. He just gets on my nerves."

"You're saying that to the people who share a room with him," George pointed out. "I have no idea why he wasn't put in Ravenclaw."

"Probably coz he isn't as smart as he thinks he is," Fred guessed. "I'd love to put some Bulbadox powder in his clothes personally."

"For once, I think I might help," Jesse said. Although Jesse was great friends with Lee, Fred and George he rarely got involved in troublemaking; preferring to watch on from the sidelines and only get involved if it meant pranking Slytherins. "Do you know how many times he's yelled at me for leaving a sock in the bathroom?"

"I think he lost his voice shouting at Fred and George once," Lee reminisced. "I think I died from trying not to laugh."

"Not our fault his Charms homework was nearby when we were experimenting," George shrugged.

"He was a bit scary though," Fred added. "He may have foamed at the mouth a bit."

"Lara's kind of lucky though. The prefects' bathrooms are like some sort of palace," Trina sighed wistfully.

"How exactly would you know?" Grace questioned.

"Oliver can go in there. He showed me once," Trina replied matter-of-factly.

"Oliver took you to the bathroom for a date?" Miranda confirmed. Everyone was staring at Trina now, who thought she had said the most normal thing in the world.

"Yeah, the bath there is like a swimming pool. We stayed there for ages," Trina explained. It didn't make anyone look away. "What? Did you expect us to swim with the giant squid in the black lake?"

Grace grinned, letting chuckles fall from her mouth at the image of Trina, dressed in a spotted red and white bikini, swimming in circles around the squid. Miranda and Ciara took one look at Trina's appalled face before they too started laughing. She was still trying to protest how great the prefects' bathroom was. It wasn't too long until the whole compartment, bar Trina, was in hysterics.

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At one 'o' clock, when the Hogwarts Express had travelled much further north, the food trolley came rattling down the corridor, pushed by the familiar jolly witch as always. It wasn't long until she arrived at the door of their compartment with a huge smile.

"Anything from the trolley dears?"

"Three chocolate frogs and some pumpkin pasties please," Grace requested. She looked around the room, wondering if she should do anything. "Would Lara want something to eat?"

"Just get her some pasties," Trina shrugged.

Grace collected her food, and Lara's, taking a bite out of her pumpkin pasties on her way back to her seat. Everyone else either produced their own home-packed lunches or bought sweets from the trolley. The lady was just beginning to push the trolley away when Oliver Wood appeared behind her.

"Can I sit down?"

"Ollie!" Trina squealed, forgetting the conversation she was previously having with Hannah. She ran to her feet, stopped right in front of Oliver and placed her hands around his neck. "I've missed you so much! Summer wasn't as good without you."

"It looks like summer _was _good to you," Oliver replied, his hands gently pulling Trina closer to him by her waist. "I can't believe I went that long without seeing your beautiful face." His head ducked down to brush her lips with his own softly. "I love you, Trina."

"None of that stuff in here!" Fred objected when Trina's murmured reply slipped from her mouth.

"Yeah, we're all heartless wretches," George nodded.

"Speak for yourself," Grace protested.

Trina rolled her eyes at the lot of them, her arms still hanging around Oliver's neck loosely. Together they somehow moved back to Trina's seat, stumbling over each other's limbs, until Oliver collapsed down with Trina sprawled on top of him.

"Were we that bad this morning?" Ciara wondered aloud, swivelling in Lee's lap to look him in the face. "I kinda of hope we weren't."

"Nah," Lee denied. "Both of your mums would have had a fit if I kissed you like I wanted to."

The rest of the Gryffindor's were saved from anymore cheesy romantic talk, making them feel either disgusted or lonely; when Lara slid open the door. She didn't even spare Oliver a glance before finding her seat and letting her head rest back, her eyes closed tight.

"That bad, huh?" Hannah asked.

"You have no idea," Lara groaned, banging her head. "The meeting was relatively short, even with Percy running things. I don't even get how he's related to you." Lara looked pointedly at Fred and George, who grinned in agreement. "Apart from the hair, you guys are nothing alike! Then once he'd finished being a _pompous prat, _I had to do patrols along the train with Kenneth. One more minute of that guy talking about his OWL studying routine and I could've slapped him!"

"Just have a pumpkin pasty," Grace laughed, shoving one into Lara's hands.

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It was early evening when the lanterns outside their compartment flickered on, illuminating the rain pouring heavily outside; each water droplet dripping its way down the glass of the windows. The wind roared outside, like there was an animal ready to pounce. Grace was glad she could be sheltered inside the train. The moment the rain had increased in volume, it wasn't just the couples who were cuddling. Even Fred and George had slowed the jokes down.

"I reckon we've only got about another hour to go," Hannah guessed, looking at her delicate wrist watch.

Only a second later, the train rattled to a slow, slow stop. Hannah frowned down at her watch, tapping the front a few times.

"We can't be there yet," she muttered, standing up and opening the door next to her. She wasn't the only one sticking their head out of their compartment to see what was going on.

The train came to a sudden stop, lurching Hannah back into her seat. The lamps lining the corridor and compartment went out as if the wind had been let in. They were in total darkness.

"What the hell is going on?" Ciara said, getting to her feet and joined by Grace.

"I think I can hear something out there," Grace said. "Why would somebody be coming aboard?"

Load, running footsteps sounded in the corridor. There was a squeak and then the door flew open.

"Lumos!" Ciara and Grace said together.

The light of their wands revealed Draco Malfoy who had tripped over his robes in his terrified haste to get away from whatever was out there. His usual cocky demeanour was gone, replaced by unadulterated fear. A whimper escaped his throat at an odd, whispering sound coming from outside.

Grace moved closer to the open door. A cloaked figure moved into the illumination of their wandlight. Nothing could be seen of the face under its hood.

A hand reached out from beneath the cloak, a slimy, scaly, scabbed hand; its long fingers stretching out, only inches from in front of Grace. She could barely move, frozen in fear, watching as the hand withdrew back inside the cloak. Grace took a deep breath of relief but she was wrong in thinking it was over.

The thing in front of her took a deep, rattling breath.

An instant cold washed over the compartment. It was more than just a cold though; it was deep, reaching inside Grace's lungs and chilling her insides. Her wand hand shook in front of her.

Grace wasn't sure when her wand went out. She wasn't aware of it slipping from her hand. All she could feel was an overpowering cold. It took over her senses. Her breath caught in her throat.

_I'm going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Then once you're dead and Ginny's gone, I'm going to kill your sister._

Tom Riddle's voice was the last thing Grace was aware of before sinking, falling into a fogging mist.

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"Grace, Grace, Grace!"

Grace squeezed her eyes shut tight, ignoring the voices around her until it was too much. The first thing she saw was Miranda's face in front of her own. On a second glance she found that she was surrounded by most of the compartment and every one of them was scrutinizing her face. George's arms were draped over her shoulders, pulling her close. Trina and Oliver sat in the corner, away from the crowd while Oliver comforted a crying Trina. Malfoy was gone.

"What happened?"

"That _thing _came in and well-" Miranda explained, clearing her throat. Her rosy cheeks had lost their colour. "You kind of . . . fainted. George caught you before you hit the ground. Then it just . . . left. You were only out for a few minutes."

"Whatever it was, I didn't like it," Jesse said, shaking his head. "Made you feel like you'd never be happy again. It was the worst feeling."

"Trina was probably the worst affected apart from you," Lara informed Grace in a low voice. "She was shaking so much and went really pale. When the thing left, she started crying. After what happened last year, I can only imagined what she was seeing."

"I think I was a dementor," Hannah said. "They guard Azkaban. They basically . . . feed on happiness. But I don't get why they were here."

"Sirius Black," Ciara stated. Her eyes went wide and she looked around the compartment wildly. "They must've been looking for him."

"Yeah, I was thinking Grace looked like a mass murderer today," George muttered. Grace chuckled softly.

"Maybe we should just get into our robes. It won't be long until we get there," Grace suggested. As soon as she stood up to reach her trunk, a wave of dizziness washed over her. Hands gripped her arms from behind, supporting her. "I'm fine," she insisted, pushing them away.

It was with great difficulty that Grace used her numb fingers to pull on her robes. Nobody spoke for the last fifteen minutes of the journey to Hogwarts. They all just sat there, ashen faced, waiting for the train to pull into Hogsmeade station. There was a great hurry to get off the train when it did finally stop. Their compartment was one of the first to get off, snatching the seats on a stagecoach pulled by invisible horses. George had his arm around Grace the entire time; almost mirroring the protective way Oliver held Trina.

It was with great relief that they walked into the Great Hall and found their seats at the Gryffindor table.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ciara prodded for the umpteenth.

"Yes," Grace lied.

"Maybe you should just see Madam Pompfrey during the Sorting," Ciara continued.

"No," Grace declined.

"Or even just ask a teacher."

"No! I am fine and I don't really need to be babied. I feel better already."

It was true that Grace felt better since they had sat down again but there was no denying the nauseous feeling in her stomach. Although the rest of her body had started to warm up the ice cold had never disappeared from inside her heart. Still though, she wasn't going to tell Ciara that. It would just be overreacting. Besides, she'd already got enough special treatment when she fainted. She didn't want anymore.

So Grace turned to watch the sorting, ignoring the looks Ciara was giving her the entire time. It was only when Professor Dumbledore stepped up to speak that Ciara looked away.

If there was anyone who would make Grace feel better it was probably Albus Dumbledore. With his long silver hair and beard, half-moon spectacles and extremely crooked nose, you couldn't really help but trust him. Grace knew there was no one she'd rather have for a headmaster as she watched him beam at the students staring back at him.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you all get befuddled by our excellent feast . . . "

"As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry business."

He paused, regarding the school with his deep, blue eyes.

"They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave the school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises- or even Invisibility Cloaks. It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the Prefects, and our new Heady Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the Dementors."

Lara, a few seats up from Grace, sat up straight in her seat and took a deep breath. She didn't look particularly happy that she might have to be near the Dementors but she was definitely serious about stopping other students going near them.

"On a happier note," Dumbledore continued; the beam back on his face. "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. Firstly, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill our post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

Professor Lupin was a shabby looking wizard; his robes torn and his face scratched in numerous places. He had brown hair, falling into his face, matching brown eyes and a slim, fragile build. Grace felt her stomach lurch at the sight of him. She had no clue why. The new Professor looked so familiar to her. She had definitely seen him before; just where she had no idea of.

The applause for the new professor was generous at best. Nobody seemed particularly impressed by him except for a pale Harry and his friends who were clapping the hardest of anyone.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as Professor Lupin's lukewarm applause died quickly. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this job in addition to his game-keeping duties."

Grace cheered loudly, joining in on the roar the Gryffindor table was creating. Fred, George and Lee were all banging their golden goblets against the table with shouts of approval. Hagrid himself had gone beet red in the face; his smile hidden in his tangle of a beard. He deserved the position more than anyone, especially after all the work he had put in for the school.

"Well I think that's everything of importance," Dumbledore finished. "Let the feast begin!"

The golden plates before them filled suddenly with food and drink. Grace grabbed everything within reach, unaware of how hungry she was.

In the talk, laughter and clatter of cutlery against golden plates, Grace almost forgot about the Dementor attack. By the time they got to pudding she barely need to inhale the chocolate pudding to feel better.

Yet the whole time she was sitting there she couldn't shake the feeling that somebody was watching her. Every time she looked up at the staff table, Professor Lupin seemed only interested in the food before him. Grace was sure it was him though. There was something about him. Something she couldn't quite place her finger on.

When Dumbledore gave them the word to leave, the Gryffindors rushed up to their common room, said 'Fortuna Major' to the Fat Lady and fell asleep in their four-poster beds within minutes. Grace tossed and turned in her bed, not finding the same level of comfort as her roommates. It was hours later that she fell into a restless sleep, plagued by disturbing dreams of Dementors and happy chuckles echoing around in the darkness.

**Please review with any questions, comments or advice! **


	5. Everything Has Changed

**Oh wow I'm so sorry, this was supposed be finished before I had my hectically busy week in the holidays. Hope you like it anyway! **

Chapter Five- Everything Has Changed

Grace woke up cold that morning, shaking her head to clear it of her horrible dreams. Even with the curtains to her four-poster bed drawn, she could hear the flurry of activity that signalled the first day of school happening in the dormitory. In a rush she hauled herself out of bed, almost getting caught in her curtains, got dressed and joined Miranda and Ciara in the bathroom before breakfast.

The three of them headed down to the Great Hall, just in time for Professor McGonagall to start handing out the Gryffindor timetables.

"Here," Lara said, passing along the fifth year timetables when they joined her. "Defense Against the Dark Arts first period today."

"I guess we get to see what Professor Lupin is like as a teacher," Ciara shrugged.

Grace glanced up at the Staff table while pouring herself some milk. Professor Lupin was reading a book in one hand, absentmindedly stirring his tea. He didn't seem the least bit nervous that he was about to teach a lively class of fifteen year olds.

"After what we had last year, he could be a werewolf and I'd be okay with it," Miranda said unashamedly. Ciara, Lara and Grace stared at her wide-eyed. "Well honestly I'd prefer someone who went a bit wild every month to the thickhead that was Lockhart."

"Yeah, well, I doubt he's a werewolf," Lara said shrewdly.

"You never know," Ciara winked.

Lara rolled her eyes at Ciara, frowning over at Grace who was pushing the last dregs of porridge around her bowl quietly.

"Grace? Are you alright? Normally you go off on a rant about Lockhart every time he's mentioned."

"He still is bloody stupid; I just didn't have a good sleep," Grace said. She gave them a huge bracing smile. "Now, c'mon, let's go see whether this professor's any good."

Ciara, Miranda, Lara and Grace were the first ones to the DADA classroom. Miranda and the two others took the desk in the front row while Grace sat behind them with Elliot and James, two Ravenclaws that she was friendly with. Slowly the classroom began filling up with yawning students, not used to the early mornings that came when school returned. Grace was just leaning over the side of her desk getting her book out when thin, pale legs came into her line of vision. Straightening up, she looked into the impeccable face of Helena Oves.

"Heard your brother fainted yesterday," she sneered, distorting her features. "Is it true you did too?"

"And I'd faint again to get away from you," Grace replied.

"Let me get a dementor to help with that then."

"S'cuse me, Helena," George interrupted, leading Fred and Lee. "I believe your sitting on our desk, thanks."

Helena scowled and stalked away to sit between Callidus Minos and John Rookwood. Lee, Fred and George moved to the desk next to Grace, grinning at her on their way.

"So Grace, I was thinking," George started, once he had sat down with his books and quills out. He leaned across the gap between their desks to talk to her.

"Oh no was it hard?" Grace interrupted with a look of horror. George continued speaking as if she hadn't just insulted his intelligence.

"How about a prank to welcome the new professor?"

"C'mon on George, really?" Grace protested. "He's only just got here. Give him a break."

"Just a small prank then," George persisted.

"I agree with Ms Potter on this one," a voice came from behind them. George and Grace spun in their seats and looked up to see Professor Lupin. Grace covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter. "Though I can't deny that my friends tended to prank new teachers as a test when I was still at Hogwarts."

Grace's mouth dropped open, like all of the others who were currently listening to Lupin. She couldn't believe that the new teacher was cool enough to have played pranks. By now the whole class had realized that the teacher had arrived and half-heartedly turned their attention towards him.

"Good morning class. My name is professor Lupin as I hope you haven't forgotten since last night. I thought for your first lesson in OWL year I'd give you a bit of a test," Professor Lupin said, addressing the whole class. He smiled at the loud groans coming from every student and gestured towards the bare desk behind him. "Does it look like I brought test papers with me? No, no I meant the practical side of your OWLs. You all seem to forget that practising the spells is just as important as studying the theory. You can put your books away."

The two Ravenclaws next to Grace leaned forward curiously.

"Now I know you had a duelling club last year- how successful it was I'm not sure- but this would be a good chance to test how well you know your defensive spells. Not by attacking each other wildly across the room." The Gryffindor boys groaned once again at this. "I'll pick two names at random and those two can come up front and have a _fair_ five minute duel."

A murmur of different opinions floated across the classroom. Grace herself was still wondering what these 'fair' duels would turn out like.

"Any volunteers to go first?"

No one volunteered so Lupin pointed his wand at the roll sitting on his desk until two names floated into the air. Elliot Salad and Lara Costalosis.

The class watched as Lupin swept his desk aside to make room for them and counted down for the two to start. It was an intense duel and lasted until Lupin announced that their five minutes were up.

"If all of you are as talented as Elliot and Lara then I'm sure you'll have no trouble earning an O in Defense," Lupin remarked. "In future though, try not to leave scorch marks on my floor."

Lara grinned sheepishly at her desk.

The rest of the lesson continued along like that. All of the students enjoyed watching their classmates compete against each other, ooing and aahing when appropriate. Friends would cheer for each other and houses sided with their fellow house.

Some of the duels lasted the five minutes given. Most were fought out for two to three minutes except for when Ciara disarmed a Ravenclaw girl in under a minute.

It was almost the end of the lesson when Grace's name rose up above the class roll, followed by Miranda Heathridge. All of their dorm-mates watched with ide eyes as the two best friends held their wands up to each other. Grace raised her eyebrows at Miranda who scrunched her face up in return. At Lupin's count they bowed smoothly to each other.

"Three, two, one," Lupin counted down before jumping out of their way.

"Rictusempra!" Grace said.

"Protego!" Miranda defended.

The tickling charm shot back at Grace, causing her to fall to the ground squirming. She gasped for breath as feather light touches tickled her sides. Her wand almost fell out of her hand- she kept a tight enough grip on it to cast the _Avis _charm at Miranda.

"Alright, alright," Miranda cried, fighting off the birds attempting to grab her wand. She cast the counter-charm to her tickling charm just in time for Grace to call the birds off.

"Two minutes to go," Lupin reminded them.

Miranda and Grace stood up straight, staring each other down. Neither one of them made a move. Their wands still pointed directly at each other's chests.

"Expelliarmus!" they both shouted together. The green jets of light missed each other by an inch and disarmed each other at the exact same time. Their wands flew in the air, right in front of Professor Lupin. He caught one with each hand.

The whole class cheered for their teacher as the bell rang loudly overhead.

Grace and Miranda went up to Professor Lupin to collect their wands, thanking him for the great lesson in the process.

"Grace, one moment please," Professor Lupin requested, right when Grace reached the door. Ciara and Miranda raised their eyebrows at her, telling her that they would wait in the corridor to see why she was in trouble.

"I swear the prank was George's idea," Grace blurted out after Lupin hadn't said a word.

Lupin chuckled softly, "So you're putting all the blame on him?"

Grace opened her mouth to confirm that she was when she realised that Lupin's tone was almost disapproving. She clamped her mouth shut, not sure what was happening.

"You know, I can definitely tell that you're Lily and James's daughter," Lupin commented, leaning against his desk. "You look just like Lily and then when you open your mouth; I swear you're as cheeky as James."

"You knew my parents?" Grace gaped.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Lupin said. "Your father and I were quite close at Hogwarts. He helped me through one of the most difficult times of my lives. When he and Lily got married after Hogwarts, we still hadn't parted ways. It was less than a year later when you were born. Seeing as I didn't have my own family, I became part of yours."

Grace frowned at her teacher, wondering where in Merlin's name this was going.

"What I'm trying to say is that James and Lily named me as your godfather when you were born," Professor Lupin finished.

For a second, Grace thought her heart had stopped. She opened and closed her mouth several times but her mouth didn't seem to be able to form words. Questions whirled around in her head. She didn't seem able to voice any of them over the racing of her heart. She sank into the nearest chair, hardly aware of her movements.

Could this even be true? A tiny, tiny part of her questioned whether some kind of cruel joke was being played on her- somehow she knew that wasn't the case.

For thirteen years, Grace had thought Harry was the only family she had left. Sure, there were the Dursleys; they just didn't count though. She'd never met anyone, apart from Hagrid and some teachers, who knew her parents really well, both at Hogwarts and outside of school. Yet, standing in front of her was a man claiming to have been her father's best friend and her godfather.

"I understand that it's a bit of a shock for you," Professor Lupin continued in a slow voice. "I haven't exactly been around since you were three years old and I'm not sure any excuse would make up for that. When Dumbledore offered me the job here, I jumped at the chance to see you." Lupin shook his head, staring at the ground. "I'm sorry; this is probably too much for you."

"No, no, no" Grace denied. She took a deep breath and smiled. "I'm just- I'm just happy."

"If it's not too sudden of me, would you like to join me for dinner on Friday?"

"I'd love it," Grace beamed. "Just one question, Professor Lupin- I'll save the rest for Friday- does Harry have a godfather?"

Lupin hesitated slightly. The small smile that had formed on his face dropped.

"He did," he finally said. "There were many deaths in the war against Voldemort and Harry's godfather was one of them. He was a great man and I'll always miss the friend I used to have . . . now enough of that. I've probably taken up too much of your time. I don't want you to be late to your next class."

"Thanks, Professor Lupin. I'll see you next lesson."

Grace was almost out of the door when she heard him call from behind her, "You can call me Remus, Grace. I don't expect to be Professor Lupin to my goddaughter."

**Well there you go. Was that a surprise to everyone? Please review with any questions, comments or advice! **


	6. Gliter in the Air

**Wow I hope this is alright guys. **

Chapter Six- Glitter in the Air

Grace exited the DADA classroom with a smile on her face, contemplating what she found out. She walked past Ciara and Miranda without a word, not even realizing they were there.

"Grace!" they both called out, racing after her hastily.

The two friends were startled when Grace linked her arms with their own and started skipping down the corridor.

"He's my godfather!" Grace exclaimed, slowing down slightly.

"What?" Ciara asked. She and Miranda exchanged a bewildered glance. "Who is?"

"Professor Lupin," Grace answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Our new teacher is your godfather?" Miranda confirmed. That was certainly not something you'd expect your best friend to say and she wasn't entirely sure what to think of it.

"Yeah, it's a bit weird isn't it?" Grace nodded, looking between her friends. Part of her worried about what they would think about her surprise godfather. "But I'm happy. It's the best thing that's happened to me in a while."

"He's a great teacher so far. I don't see anything wrong with it," Miranda shrugged. Grace internally sighed with relief.

"It was a pretty great lesson, right?" Grace agreed. "And it proved we're equal in skill."

"Oh no I still think I'm better than you," Miranda countered as they rounded the corner to their charms classroom. "At least someone disarmed a Ravenclaw, hey Ciara?"

Ciara didn't respond. Her eyes were locked on a point down the corridor and her arm had stiffened in Grace's.

"You know I was only telling him this morning how I was sure that Mariana fancied him," Ciara said with gritted teeth, her frustration showing clearly. Grace followed Ciara's eyes to where Lee was leaning against the wall, laughing, next to a Ravenclaw girl who was watching him with keen eyes. "Does she even realize he has a girlfriend?"

Grace grimaced at Miranda, following everyone else into the classroom. Ciara darted over to make sure that she sat between Lee and Mariana. Lee's face broke into a grin at the sight of his girlfriend, slightly confused as to why she was so hostile all of a sudden, but Mariana scowled at the barrier between her and Lee.

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"Oh, c'mon Ciara, I know something's wrong!" Lee stated after Ciara failed to laugh at yet another one of his jokes on the way to dinner. All through History of Magic she had ignored everything he had whispered to her. "You always love my impression of the twins flirting with Miranda and Grace."

"It's nothing," Ciara denied. "Forget it."

"Well then it can't be tha bad," Lee insisted. "Just tell me."

"Leave it alone, Lee," she sighed, taking a seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Why?" Lee questioned. "Is it about me?"

"Yes, Lee it's about you!" Ciara cried. "It's about how you were completely oblivious when Mariana was flirting with you outside Charms."

"What? Are you jealous?" Lee frowned, ignoring Ciara's scowl. "Or are you saying you think I was flirting back? That's a bit hypocritical from you."

"Excuse me?" Ciara gasped, pausing in the act of pouring some gravy onto her roast. "When have I _ever_ flirted with anybody that wasn't you?"

"You went to that Quidditch camp in the summer," Lee spluttered. "I bet there were a bunch of attractive guys there."

Ciara opened her mouth to respond angrily, feeling cheated and offended at the direction the conversation had taken. How could he possibly accuse her of that?

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Grace took her seat next to Jesse at dinner, still elated from that morning's news. He stared at her, amused, as she piled food onto her plate.

"I heard about your great news," he commented as Grace beamed at him. "I'm pretty sure you're the only one having a great day around here."

The beam fell from Grace's face to be replaced by a frown. Somehow she hadn't heard Lee and Ciara arguing yet.

"Why? It's only the first day back. Surely something can't have gone wrong already?"

"Apparently it can," Jesse grimaced. He gestured down the table, where Ciara and Lee had now abandoned their food to fight. "They've been fighting ever since I got down for dinner."

"So? They always fight. Give it a few hours and they'll be over it again."

"I'm not so sure about that."

The two of them watched as Ciara stood up from the table, shot Lee a withering look and stalked away. Lee scowled at her back and viciously stabbed at his steak.

"I'm sure they'll make up by the morning," Grace insisted. "Besides, that can't be the only thing that went wrong by the way you were talking."

Jesse's scowl deeply; his normally calm face turned annoyed.

"That bloody Draco Malfoy. He provoked a hippogriff in Hagrid's very first class so naturally it attacked him. Then he cried bloody murder and his father wants to get up on his high-horse and sack Hagrid."

"What?" Grace gasped. "But if it was Malfoy's fault-"

"Ahh, Grace but of course it wasn't," Jesse said, shaking his head. "None of the Gryffindor's words will count for anything and all the Slytherins swear that Hagrid's hippogriff went wild."

"Bullshit."

Jesse gave her a small smile, "With that attitude I'm sure you can help win Hagrid's case."

"Hey, c'mon," Grace grinned, pushing Jesse in the arm. "We've got Care of Magical Creatures before lunch tomorrow right? We get to see Hagrid and cheer him up."

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The sun was bright over the grounds the next morning when the fifth years descended the slope down to Hagrid's hut. The news of the hippogriff attack had spread fast overnight so by now everyone knew. It was all they talked about at that moment. Ciara, however, had her mind elsewhere.

"Are you okay, Ciara?" Hannah asked softly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Ciara said. "It was just a stupid argument. We're going to meet tonight for dinner and figure it out."

"There's no one like Hagrid to cheer you up, I guess," Lara added.

"From what I've heard we're the ones that need to cheer him up," Miranda said, eyeing the muttering Slytherins warily.

"At least we know that Hagrid isn't ascrazy as Professor Kettleburn was starting to get," Grace pointed out, just as they gathered at the front door of Hagrid's hut.

"I wouldn't even count on him being around too much longer," Rookwood muttered in Grace's ear, making her jump away from him and scowl. "Lucius Malfoy has power and, if he gets his way, that great oaf will be gone by the end of the year."

"If I had my way, you'd be gone by the end of the day," Grace retorted, turning her attention to Hagrid as he approached from the outskirts of the forest.

**Please review with any questions, comments or advice! **


	7. So what?

**Well this took longer than expected. Actually, no ,sorry, I always knew this chapter was going to be long. It's 4K words! But I'm proud of it and think it's a pretty decent chapter so enjoy and tell me if you think the same. **

Chapter Seven- So What?

Ciara sat expectantly at the table down in the kitchens, waiting for Lee to arrive. After dinner on Monday night, when she had stormed away from him, Lee had eventually caught up with her, once both of their tempers had sizzled down of course. He had offered a ceasefire and dinner the next night. Seven 'o'clock, Tuesday night, in the kitchens.

It was ten past seven.

Maybe Ciara was just getting impatient because she had arrived down here twenty minutes early. She should just get some pumpkin juice and wait for him to join her. He wouldn't be that long though. There would be no point starting without him if he was just a few minutes away.

Another twenty minutes later, Ciara was sure something was wrong. At least that's what the feeling in her gut told her, especially when it started to growl with hunger. The house elves were still bustling around her, trying to ignore the fact that she was getting in their way and working around her. One of the smaller, kinder looking elves approached her with a tray of fried chicken and pumpkin juice.

"Miss, would you like some food or drink?"

"No thanks," Ciara denied. "I'm just waiting for someone."

The elf bowed her head politely and backed away into the rush of service. The action turned into a blur around Ciara. She checked her watch every so often to find that not much time had passed each time. The only sound she could concentrate on was the ticking of time. When at last she looked and realised that it was eight 'o' clock, she got fed up.

Calling the elf from earlier back over, Ciara requested a butterbeer and gulped it down quickly, wallowing in her thoughts. Maybe they had just mixed the times up. Or places. Lee could have said that they were meeting in an abandoned classroom or the great hall. But she knew that wasn't right. They _always_ met in the kitchens, yet he wasn't here.

Ciara's free hand ran over the rough wood in the table, catching on a scratch that she and Lee had etched into the table during Miranda's birthday party last year. _Ciara and Lee. _Each name written in the other's handwriting. She clenched her hand to hide it from her, suppressing rage that was bubbling beneath the surface.

She left her empty butterbeer bottle on the table and pushed through the throng of house elves out of the kitchen. In a matter of minutes she ended up in the Gryffindor common room in front of Lee, Fred and George. Lee looked up, laughing, from some joke that the twins had just told. His eyes went wide at the sight of Ciara and he cursed silently under his breath.

"Oh so now you remember?" Ciara questioned. Lee took a deep breath and opened his mouth but Ciara cut across him. "I can't believe you! Why would you even tell me that we were having dinner if you're not going to bother showing up?"

"Ciara," Lee started. "I-"

"Save it," Ciara continued, shaking her head. "After Monday I thought that maybe we could still make it but obviously you don't care enough to try. And neither do I really. I don't care if you never talk to me again."

"Fine," Lee retorted. "Have it your way."

"Fine!" Ciara snapped. She spun around and marched past Grace and the rest of her dorm-mates, staring profusely at the ground.

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Wednesday passed very slowly. The Gryffindor girls spent the day close to Ciara while Lee avoided them all completely. Fred, George and Jesse stayed with him. At night they all sat awkwardly in a corner of the common room, trying to struggle through their pile of homework. No one spoke except for Fred and George as they tried to break the tension and the occasional question concerning their work.

Thursday was no better. Ciara seemed to be sticking to her word and would never talk to Lee again. But at least Fred, George and Jesse talked to the girls once again. It came as a relief when Hannah, Ciara, Fred and George had to trudge down to Quidditch training. That night only Grace joined them. Lara was patrolling the corridors; being bored to death by Kenneth, while everyone else was still doing homework.

After two hours of trying practise and uncomfortable reading, Grace met the team down on the pitch. Ciara left immediately for bed, Hannah went to join the others; worried about missing too much revision time, and the others disappeared their separate ways. They all walked straight past Grace with a mumbled goodbye until Harry was the only one left.

"Good training?" Grace asked.

"Oh, yeah, great," he replied sarcastically. "None of our chasers could concentrate at all and I was so hungry I almost fell of my broom."

"You can't really blame them though. It's been a tough week," Grace reasoned. "How 'bout we go to the Great hall and get some late dinner if you're that hungry?"

"Sure," he agreed, hoisting his broom over his shoulder and walking alongside her back to the castle. "What's going on that's got everyone so worked up anyway?"

"Harry, it's OWL year," Grace stated. He simply stared back at her, prompting her to explain more. "We've got essays and readings from every different teacher that need to be handed in within days of being handed out as well as constant practise to make sure we get the spells right. Our marks could determine whether we can get a career at all. I mean, if I don't get an O in Potions, Transfiguration and Charms then I won't be able to be a healer at all!"

"Then how come you're sitting through our Quidditch practise instead of studying?"

Grace stopped in her tracks, right on the castle steps, "Well maybe I just needed a break! It's been a long week."

"You're not the only one," Harry said, glancing back at Hagrid's hut before the castle doors closed.

"I heard about what happened," Grace whispered. "How come it's the first week back and only one thing has gone right?" They turned into the Great hall and sat down at the empty Gryffindor table.

"I'm lost. How has anything gone right this week?"

"I never told you?" Grace gaped. Harry frowned at her, shaking his head. "Professor Lupin is my godfather! I'm meeting him for dinner tomorrow night." Harry's mouth dropped open. His eyes went wide behind his glasses. "I know right? I was pretty shocked too but he . . . he told me all about how he was friends with mum and dad at school then they were still close when they got married and had us. So dad made him my godfather I guess."

Harry hesitated slightly before asking a question Grace almost feared, "Did he say anything about my godparents?"

Grace looked away from Harry, biting her lip. Finally she took a deep breath to continue, "He said that- both of your godmother and godfather had been killed in the war. Same with my godmother."

Harry looked down at the ground and stayed silent while Grace pulled the last platters of food left towards her. She always hated having dinner in the Great Hall after Quidditch training. There was barely any food left by the time they got there.

"You've had your first lesson with him, right?" Grace confirmed.

"Just today," Harry said. "He showed us a boggart in the staffroom and how to fight them. Turns out Neville's greatest fear is Professor Snape and Snape looks good in an old lady's clothes."

"What?"

"You remember how to defeat a boggart?" Harry checked. Grace nodded slowly. "Apparently Lupin told Neville to imagine Snape in his grandma's clothes so he came out in this green dress, handbag, high heels and giant hat with a vulture on top."

Grace choked on a piece of chicken. Harry thumped hard on her back as she struggled to control her laughter. Eventually she was able to breathe again, with assistance from a glass of water.

"I don't reckon I'd like to meet a boggart alone. I don't know what it would turn into and don't want to know. Something horrible probably. What'd it turn into for you?"

"I never got a chance to see," Harry answered honestly. "Lupin jumped in before I could face it."

"I guess that's fair," Grace shrugged. "Considering what we've been through, Remus didn't really want the class to see any of i-i-it." She failed to stifle a huge yawn in the middle of talking. "It's getting late. We should head off before it gets too late and Snape decides to welcome us back to school with detention."

"I wouldn't put it past him," Harry grimaced. Grace finished her butterbeer in quick gulps and jumped up, walking with Harry to the marble staircase. "He's already in a bad mood. Everyone knows about the boggart incident."

"After five years, I'm not surprised at how fast that story spread around Hogwarts."

"Like the Sirius Black sighting."

"What?" Grace gasped. "I didn't hear about that!"

"It was in the paper this morning. He was seen in a Muggle town just near here. I think I'm lucky Professor McGonagall didn't track me down and lock me away."

"Why would you need special treatment? I mean, I know Stan Shunpike said that Black was Voldemort's number one follower but he wouldn't go after you just for being loyal to Voldemort. Right?"

Harry's grimace answered her question.

"You don't know that for sure though. You're just guessing that he would go after you."

With a sigh, Harry explained what he had overheard Mr and Mrs Weasley talking about on the last night of the holidays. "I told Ron and Hermione on the train but I haven't seen you that much since we got here. Then, with all the stuff happening with Hagrid and Buckbeak, I forgot about it."

Grace was still in shock. Not another word was spoken until they got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, where Harry gave her the password to get in. Grace followed him wordlessly to a table in the corner, just near Ron and Hermione.

"How could you not tell me about that?" Grace squeaked when she had sat down.

"How could you not tell me you had a godfather?" Harry retorted.

"You're in danger!"

"You have a godfather!"

Grace stared at him, having forgotten for a moment that she did have a godfather. A smile broke out on her face. Harry grinned back. For a moment, surrounded by fellow Gryffindors who's talking blended into a dull buzz, Grace almost forgot about the crazed madman after her brother. For a thirteen year old boy, he seemed surprisingly okay with it. In all fairness, the best thing Grace could do right then was pull her bag towards her and drag out her half-done Potions essay.

"Harry, either some sort of meltdown is happening or we are having a serious lack of communication," she stated as she started to scribble down the second half of her essay. "And I'm starting to think it's the former."

"A meltdown sounds better compared to not talking to you," Harry said, getting out his own homework.

"Merlin, I love you, Harry."

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"I'm so freaking bored!" Miranda exclaimed, slamming her wand down onto her desk in front of her.

"Mate, watch where you're pointing that thing!" Ciara yelled as she dodged the spurt of water that Miranda's wand had produced.

They were in History of Magic with the Ravenclaws on Friday afternoon. Professor Binn's monotone still droned over them but they had stopped listening five minutes into the class. He had stopped caring years ago.

"We need something fun to do!" Trina said and jumped to her feet. "Everybody's in such a bad mood lately."

One glance around showed Ciara glaring across the room at Lee, Lara rubbing her prefects badge ruefully, Hannah reading over her OWL revision once again and Grace scanning the papers for any mention of Sirius Black. As soon as she woke up that morning and heard Lara and Hannah discussing his sighting, her initial worries had returned. If that wasn't bad enough, she was behind on homework and had a day of History of Magic and Potions. Dinner with Remus couldn't come quick enough.

"Well, I might have a box of Bertie Bott's Beans in my bag," Grace said reluctantly. She laid the paper aside to retrieve the tiny purple box from her bag. "But we're going to need more than the six of us to have some real fun, which I still doubt will happen."

Trina ignored her pessimistic attitude and searched for someone to come over and be idiots with them. Their usual candidates weren't available. It was unspoken that Lee and the rest of the boys were out of the question.

"Oi, Megan, Julie, Jeremy!" Trina called to the three Ravenclaws a few rows in front of them. They walked over at Trina's summoning gesture, attracting no attention from Professor Binns whatsoever.

The first girl, Megan was petite and pale. A smattering of freckles dotted her face, which was framed by long blond waves. Next to her, laughing at something Megan had said was Jeremy. In complexion and size they were almost exactly the same but Jeremy's unruly, curly hair was a chocolate brown. Finally Julie was the last to complete the trio with her silky black hair and small but sweet smile.

"Here, try this one," Grace suggested to Miranda once everyone was settled. "I think its blueberry."

"Yeah blueberry," Miranda said after a few seconds of chewing. "Kinda tastes like soap too."

Everyone looked at each other in amusement. Grace ate a juicy green apple bean before the real fun started.

"What's black with grey flecks?" Ciara asked, peering into the box she was holding.

"I think its pepper," Grace answered. "And there's a second one if anyone wants it."

"I'll have it," Megan jumped up to grab the bean.

On the count of three they both popped the beans in their mouths. For a few seconds they cautiously bit into the beans. Then, at the exact same time, their faces changed into ones of shock and distaste. They both sprinted to the open windows and spat the beans out until they finally seemed to recover.

"It's like synchronised spitting!" Trina said.

The rest of the class was staring at Megan and Ciara in confusion. Professor Binns had raised his head but continued to read at no sign of trouble, seeing as Megan and Ciara were frozen by the window. On the way back to her seat, Ciara brushed past Lee. Fiery glares were sent to each other but Ciara swept past, wiping her mouth, like nothing had happened.

"Who's next?" she sang.

"Wait!" Lara said. "Accio bin! Now at least you have something to spit into."

Trina grabbed the box from her hands for herself and pulled out the first bean she saw. Everyone watched in anticipation for her reaction. Her face scrunched up in revolt.

"Rotten egg!" she exclaimed and promptly jumped up to the bin. "That was foul!"

The box was passed from person to person so everyone could pick out a bean at random. Out of extraordinary luck, Lara and Hannah chose watermelon and cinnamon. Julie was not so lucky and delicately stood to dispose of the rotten egg bean with dignity and grace.

When the box finally came to rest in Jeremy's hands, he looked down at it warily.

"Can I pick a good one?"

"No!" protests came from the girls around him.

"Then it wouldn't be fun!" Grace added mischievously. It hadn't taken long for her to get into a good mood again. And when it involved disgusting Bertie Botts beans, how could she not have fun?

With a fake annoyed look, Jeremy picked out a brown and yellow bean and began to chew.

"Is it earwax?" Grace asked. "Cuz it looked like earwax."

Concentration came across his face as he figured out what exactly he tasted. Everyone stared at him excitedly.

"I think it is earwax," he nodded fervently. The girls all made squeals of disgust. "No, no, it's good."

"Okaaay," Miranda stared at him with her eyebrows raised. "Pass it here. I'll have another 's see if it's worse than soapy blueberry."

The bean that fell into her hand was light brown with darker flecks.

"I think its dirt," Miranda guessed. "No, sausage. Actually both."

"Well why don't you try it and see?" Grace suggested.

Miranda popped the bean into her mouth. Her face scrunched up slightly as she cocked her head side to side and frowned.

"I'm still not sure," she said. "It tastes like a sausage cooked in dirt. Eurgh."

With that, she leapt to the bin and spat the rest of the bean out. They sat for the next few minutes just smiling and laughing before everyone calmed down once more to eat the few beans that were left.

"I guess I should have a random one since I started this," Grace said with an air of defeat.

"I'll pick one for you," Megan jumped up.

The bean was white with yellow flecks. Grace had a suspicion of what it was but was slightly afraid to voice it. She placed it on her tongue and bit down. An overwhelming bad taste of eggs way past their expiry date exploded over her taste-buds. It made her gag and choke with disgust. The taste of it still lingered in her mouth after she had spat it out.

"Someone give me water," she gasped. The girls around her barely heard over their laughter but Hannah still fished out a water bottle for her.

"Are there any left?" Ciara asked.

"There's two vomit ones, another pepper, a dirt or sausage," Lara answered, peering into the box.

"Dirt-sausage," Miranda interrupted.

"And a couple of nice ones like candyfloss, apple, watermelon and grass," Lara finished.

"I'll eat the grass now," Grace volunteered, wanting anything to get rid of the taste of rotten eggs. And if that meant eating a grass flavoured bean then sure. "Merlin, that's weird."

While Grace was eating the surprisingly good grass bean, Megan decided to eat the vomit one. There was no logical explanation as to why she would do this but the entertainment value was worth it.

"I'm gonna be sick," she screamed, attracting the attention of Professor Binns and the rest of the class, falling off her chair on the way to the bin. She spat out of the bean and returning to her seat, sculling down the water that Hannah offered her.

"Ms Snarker!" the ghost scolded.

"Oh sorry, I'm fine now," Megan said breathlessly. To the girls around herm she whispered, "That was freaking disgusting!"

None of them were listening as they were all too busy laughing their heads off.

"Who wants the other?" Lara asked sarcastically.

"Jeremy!" Megan proposed enthusiastically. It didn't take her long to get over her disgust.

"What?" Jeremy said, startled. "I'm not having that!"

Fortunately it only took a minute of all of the girls convincing to eat the bean. Another thirty seconds later, since he had hesitantly put it in his mouth, the bean was out again with much spluttering.

The bell rang over the top of their chuckles.

"Thank god that's over," Jeremy muttered. In a split second, the classroom was empty. No one would ever want to stay there longer than they had to, even if they did have double potions straight after lunch. Grace stuffed the remaining beans back in her bag, wishing that she could skip Potions and go straight to dinner with Remus.

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Soft knocks at the door made Remus' head snap up from pile of seventh grade essays he had been marking. In the doorway to his office stood Grace, his goddaughter giving him a small smile. That moment more than she reminded him of Lily, from her blazing red hair to kind look in her eyes. She even wore her Gryffindor uniform the same as her mother. But in other ways she was like James. The way she leant against the door frame, like she didn't have a care in the world, was just the way James would stand in front of a teacher.

"Sorry, am I early?" she apologized.

"No, no, I was just marking papers."

"I try to make it a policy not to do any work on a Friday night," Grace commented, taking a seat in front of his desk.

"Your father had the same policy. Strangely though, your mother agreed with him about it," Remus recalled, capturing Grace's interest instantly. "I'm not sure your father ever did much homework. If his answers were ever similar to mine, it's because they were mine. He would go to Quidditch training and stay out there for hours, returning late at night to realise that there was an essay due tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, he had a brilliant mind."

"Brilliant," Grace echoed.

"I was just going to get the house elves to bring up a platter of food later on, if that's alright," Remus said. Grace nodded, loving the man in front of her more at the offer of food. "I've got some tea or butterbeer if you want a drink while we wait."

"Yes please, just some butterbeer," Grace requested. An idea popped into her head. Maybe there was a way to get rid of the last few beans, prank their new teacher and give her godfather a 'welcome present'. She collected up the beans and offered them to him with an innocent smile. "Remus, would you like a jelly bean as well? They're a Muggle lolly and really nice."

"You think I wouldn't recognize Bertie Botts bean when I see them?" Remus smiled, placing a frothy glass of butterbeer in front of her. "But I wouldn't mind that watermelon bean."

Grace scowled lightly and passed over the bean, taking the candyfloss one for herself.

"James attempted that prank many times," Remus informed her. "If you really want it to work, you have to be more subtle than that."

"Am I hearing right? My teacher is helping me with prank ideas."

"Ah godfather," Remus corrected. "Though the teacher side of me wouldn't exactly disapprove much either."

"Don't let Fred or George hear you say that," Grace warned. "They'd unleash hell onto your classes."

"I can imagine," Remus chuckled dryly. The door opened quietly behind Grace. At first she thought there was no one there and two silver platters of food were hovering into the room but then she looked down and saw the house elves holding the large plates above their heads precariously. Neither of them said a word while placing the platters down on Remus' desk and bowing away. Remus caught Grace's eyes with a smile. "Bon appetite."

It wasn't until she saw the food in front of her that Grace realised how hungry she was. Rotten egg beans don't exactly fill one up. Enthusiastically, Grace piled the food onto a plate that Remus had produced. It took a few minutes o silent eating for her to slow down and start the conversation up again.

"Remus, what was I like as a baby?" Grace wondered. "Aunt Petunia always said I was awful and gave her lots of trouble. Then again she said the same thing about Harry and he was the calmest child I knew."

"It seems like Lily's stories of Petunia were right then," Remus grimaced, laying aside his plate that ad once contained a juicy steak. "You were always a good baby. At least you were while I was babysitting. You were- what's the word for it?"

"Disruptive?" Grace suggested.

"Lively," Remus amended. "There was barely a second in the day that you weren't on your feet. You learnt to walk shortly after learning to talk and then you wouldn't stop either. You were the happiest baby. At night, you finally lost your energy and all you wanted to do was cuddle someone. Oh, and have some chocolate."

"I'm not sure much has changed," Grace laughed. "Fred and George will attest to that."

"You've got good friends then? Everyone treats you well?"

"They're the best. Lara, Ciara, Miranda, Trina, Hannah and the boys, of course. I wouldn't change them for the world. It's like I have five sisters and four brothers."

"No boys in the picture then?" Remus continued to question.

"No one that you need to worry about," Grace said.

They shared a warm smile. Grace found it hard not to laugh at Remus trying to be protective.

"Dessert?" Remus offered. He vanished the dirty plates and empty platters with a wave of his wand, bringing the chocolates closer.

"Oh Merlin, yes," Grace said, reaching for a miniature chocolate pie.

**Please review with any comments, questions or advice! As always, thanks for waiting and reading. **


	8. English Town

**I am alive! So please don't kill me for the long wait. I've been having such a hard time lately that I even have to have help with school work and stuff. Apart from that, I've been sick and busy. Plus this chapter turned out to be 5K words so that didn't help.**

Chapter Eight- English Town

If Grace's workload seemed to be bad earlier in term, it only got worse as they went along. Every time someone attempted to complain a teacher would point out that they were in their OWL year. Professor Snape would turn up his lip at whoever said a word and threatened them with detention. Nobody ever said a word in Transfiguration after the first time that Fred moaned about getting yet another essay.

"Mr Weasley, I assure you that if you feel that one essay is too much for you than feel free to fail your OWLs altogether," Professor McGonagall said to him before raising her voice for the rest of the class. "You may think that your teachers have been giving you too much work recently but I'm sure you would all like to have enough credentials to get a decent career after Hogwarts. These results _will _affect you for the rest of your lives. It is not just some joke. Come exam time you will need all the practise you can get. So I expect that essay on my desk Monday morning."

Remus' reaction only made Grace love him more though. At the roar of protests that came from the handing out of homework, Remus shrugged to her helplessly and said, "Truth be told even I I wish I didn't have to give out homework. The more I give, the more I have to mark."

"Yeah, you spend all of Friday dinners marking my homework instead of actually talking to me," Grace teased.

After their first Friday night dinner, Grace continued eating in Remus' office every Friday. It became their tradition. One might have thought it would be awkward for them but it was like they had known each other for years. They seamlessly formed a close relationship that Grace never thought she would have with anyone. He seemed to know when something was wrong, such as the Friday before their first Hogsmeade trip of the year when Grace was poking her food around.

"Grace?" Remus repeated.

"What?" Grace asked, snapping out of her daze.

"I was just saying how you must enjoy the Hogsmeade weekends," Remus continued, amusement showing in his voice. "What with all the chocolate you can buy at Honeydukes."

"I can't go," Grace muttered, shaking her head. "My uncle never signed my permission slip."

Remus frowned down at his rare- cooked steak. That was something Grace had learned about him as well- his love for barely cooked red meat.

"Hogsmeade was one of my favourite parts of coming to Hogwarts. It's a shame for you to miss out on that," he told her. Grace decided not to reveal that she had snuck down there for a date before. "Tell you what; I can take you before the Halloween feast in the afternoon. I'm sure your friends won't mind if you're late to the feast."

"Are you serious?" Grace gaped, dropping her fork. "Will Dumbledore let you?"

"He knows I'm your godfather. Nobody will mind. Besides, other parents visit and take their kids down to the village all the time. I don't see much difference. I can meet you outside the Gryffindor common room at four?"

"You remember where the common room is, right?"

"Your father and I ruled that common room, once upon a time," Remus laughed. "Not only do I remember where it is but I know every secret passageway from here to there."

"You're great, you know?" Grace told him. She smiled widely, loving the way the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly in response. She was interrupted from complimenting him more by a quiet knock on the door. Remus hadn't even turned his head before Snape let himself in, bringing with him a steaming goblet of liquid.

"Ah, Severus, thank you," Remus said, inclining his head and taking the goblet from him.

"Best to take it quickly, Lupin," Snape said curtly. He spared Grace a glance of disdain and swept out of the office, his black cloak flying behind him.

"What is that?" Grace asked, wrinkling her nose at the potion. Normally she would be able to stomach the smell and look of strange potions from all her time in the hospital wing but this was one she hadn't come across before and she didn't trust anything made by Snape either.

"A potion for my health," Remus answered dryly. He took a breath and thought carefully before speaking again. "I have a slight medical condition that I need to treat every month. Severus has kindly spent time making that for me."

"Why not get Madam Pompfrey to make it for you? She'd more willing to help than Snape. I thought you and dad _hated_ him."

"Sometimes you just have to move past schoolyard grudges, Grace," Remus advised gently. "He may not be the most pleasant man out there but he is now my colleague and for that, at least, I will put my old feelings aside."

"That doesn't mean he has!" Grace exclaimed. "Who knows what he's put in that?"

"Professor Dumbledore trusts him and that means I do too."

"Madam Pompfrey still could have made it!"

"Madam Pompfrey has a lot of other concerns on her mind to deal with as I'm sure you would know."

"But-"

"Grace, leave it alone. If I collapse after taking this, you can accuse Professor Snape of whatever you want but for now, trust him."

"Fine," Grace grumbled. "But when I'm stuck in detention instead of having dinner with you, I expect you to be at least slightly annoyed with him."

"Oh, I will be," Remus nodded. "If he gives you detention he might have to relive one of the pranks your father played on him."

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Grace strolled into the common room late at night, having stayed a few hours after dinner to play Exploding Snap with Remus then have a cup of hot cocoa in front of his fire. Out of the ten games they played, she won eight and only managed to singe her hair a tiny bit.

There was hardly anybody still up. Grace assumed her friends hadn't gone to bed but were up in the boys' dormitory. She wasn't exactly sure what they did on a Friday night up there when she wasn't around. Although she did find a melted box of chocolate éclairs under a pile of clothes near their fire one Saturday morning. The only people in the common room now were Ron, Harry and Hermione taking advantage of the empty seats in front of the fire.

Grace sat on the floor at Harry's feet, tipping her head back against his legs to give him a lopsided smile. He stared down at her amusedly.

"You could always spend the Hogsmeade time with Grace," Hermione suggested, continuing a conversation that seemed to have started before Grace arrived.

"Actually, no, sorry, Remus was going to take me down," Grace told them. "Speaking of Remus, you should have seen what happened at dinner. Snape came in and gave Remus some sort of smoking potion. He said it was for his health but it's not like anything I've ever seen."

"And he drank it?" Ron said. His mouth had fallen open. "Is he mad?"

Grace frowned up at him, about to jump in to defend Remus when Harry spoke up.

"Snape would do anything for the Defense job, wouldn't he? I wouldn't be surprised if he had poisoned Lupin."

Even if the possibility had occurred to Grace several times on her walk back to Gryffindor tower, she was still kind of scared that Snape has put something in that goblet. So naturally when Harry said that out-loud it made her want to run back to Remus and yell at him for being so stupid.

"You do know that if Snape was trying to poison Lupin, he wouldn't have done it in front of Grace," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe," Grace said. "Wouldn't put it past him. He hates me enough."

"Says the girl who can actually get an O in Potions," Harry groaned. "If he hates you, imagine what he's like for someone who almost fails his class."

"True," Grace acknowledged, inclining her head. "Well I'm going to go to bed so I can revise tomorrow and not be in that position."

"Fine, we'll just fail Potions," Ron grumbled after her as she headed towards the girls' dormitory. "Thanks for your help!"

"You know you only have to ask!" Grace called over her shoulder, waving a hand in goodbye.

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True to her word, Grace did spend most of her morning studying before Remus would take her to Hogsmeade. All of her friends had left at eleven' o'clock with the rest of the school. She had watched them out the window with Harry, only slightly jealous that they got to be down there without teachers. Though Remus never acted like a teacher when he wasn't in the classroom, he could still be considered a responsible adult.

Trina, Hannah, Jesse and Lara had been sympathetic when saying goodbye to her in the morning but Miranda, Ciara, Lee and the twins decided to tease her instead, talking about how they were going to try and get Firewhiskey from the Hog's Head bar. Of course, Grace doubted that they would succeed. It was worth the fun of trying though.

"C'mon, I've got homework to do; may as well do it together," Grace said, walking towards a table in the corner of the common room.

"I need help with my potions homework anyway," Harry told her, retrieving the report from his bag and laying it out on their table.

"Show me what you're having trouble with," Grace requested.

In the next three hours, Grace worked on both her own and her brother's work. It did take her mind off of the fun that her friends were no doubt having right now but not necessarily for the better. Instead different potions ingredients and important magical dates swam in her mind every time she closed her eyes.

"Have you been working on that same essay this whole time?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah, work doesn't exactly get less in OWL year," Grace said.

"In what year?" Harry asked. Grace had forgotten that Harry wouldn't know about OWL exams yet. And for that he was lucky.

"OWLs. Ordinary Wizarding Level. It's the exams they give in your fifth year," Grace explained. "Then in your last year you get NEWTs- Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. If you don't get the right marks in those ones you can't get the career you want."

"Can't wait," Harry replied.

Another few minutes passed before Grace threw her quill down onto the parchment in front of her.

"Ha! I finished!" Grace exclaimed. She grinned at Harry, who looked back at her in bemusement. The essay was quickly rolled up and stuffed in her bag, away from further thought. With an exasperated sigh, she dug around in her bag, shoving things aside for what she was looking for. "I must have left my Charms textbook upstairs. Be right back."

Grace hurried up the stairs to her dormitory. She carefully stepped around the clothes that lay around Miranda and Trina's beds, digging under things to find the evasive book. After throwing her, Miranda and Trina's clothes around a bit more, stubbing her toe on the corner of Ciara's trunk that stuck out from under her bed and very almost tipping over an open bottle of nail polish, she found her textbook in her bedside drawer. Shaking her head at the mess that had become of their dormitory, she rushed down back down to the common room only to find Harry had disappeared.

"Where is he?" Grace asked in disbelief, addressing the room in general.

"He said he had to go to the library," Colin Creevey spoke up. "You could sit with us if you like until he gets back."

Grace kinda felt bad for declining the offer when she saw the eager, excited look on Colin's face but decline it she did. Instead she collected her homework and trudged back up the stairs to start cleaning their dormitory. Maybe she'd clear up a bit of walking space on her side of the room before Remus came to pick her up. After all, it was only one side of the room that was like that; Lara and Hannah were perfectly tidy, even making sure the bathroom stayed in some sort of clean state.

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When Grace did manage to neaten up their room somewhat she started to get ready for her Hogsmeade trip. The others would probably return in another two hours or so but she was only about to leave. They weren't as lucky to see the sun set over the Hogwarts castle.

Quickly straightening her skirt and flinging her bag over her shoulder, Grace ran down the stairs, dodging out of Colin's way with a smile, to hurtle through the portrait hole. Remus was walking down the corridor just as she stopped.

"I can see you're in a rush to go," he commented, watching her catch her breath from the short sprint. "It is still a fair walk down to the village."

"And you're going to have to spend it all with me," Grace nodded, a sympathetic expression forming on her face.

"We may as well get it over with then," Remus sighed, slinging an arm over Grace's shoulders to pull her closer and drag her away from the portrait hole. "After all my money bag will probably be empty after a visit to Honeydukes with you."

"Remus," Grace started but was cut off before she could protest more.

"My treat. I didn't say that I would be spending all of it on you though. I need a chocolate hit too."

Grace's laugh echoed down the corridor. One thing she was delighted to share with Remus was her love of sweets. Usually their Friday night desserts ended up being larger than the actual dinner.

"I'm sure you're excited to see Hogsmeade after two years," Remus continued.

"Yeah. . ." Grace trailed off. "I've heard all of my friends talk about it but . . . er . . . never seen it myself."

"Really?" Remus arched an eyebrow. By now they descending the marble staircase and crossing the entrance hall. "I would have thought the daughter of James Potter would have found a way to leave the castle anyway."

Grace frowned, no sure what to make of Remus' statement. Would he get angry at her if she told him that she had snuck out before? And besides she didn't really want to mention that she had used the Marauders' Map to find a way out. That did seem like the sort of thing that couldn't tell to your relaxed godfather.

"Would you get angry if I have snuck out before?" Grace asked, turning her head to squint at Remus in blinding winter sun.

"I can't exactly deny doing the same thing at school."

"You did have permission though," Grace pointed out.

"Ahh but there were times when Honeydukes sweets were needed straight after a Gryffindor win."

"You sure you don't mean Firewhiskey?"

"That's a whole other topic of rule-breaking. One that I'm not sure I want to go into."

Grace stayed silent as they approached the school gates, passing a few older students who seemed to bore of the village quickly after five years. As far as she could remember there was only one time that she had snuck out of the castle grounds. Although she was slightly ashamed that the reason for sneaking out was a date with Nate the obnoxious Ravenclaw.

"I may have used Harry's invisibility cloak to go to the village once," Grace admitted.

"Did you feel particularly lonely that weekend?" Remus frowned. "It seems odd to only have snuck out once."

"Are you encouraging me to sneak out?" Grace chuckled. "I only went that time because Nate Williams had asked me to go with him."

"Nate Williams? That whiney Ravenclaw who would be a lot nicer if he kept his mouth shut?" Remus confirmed, staring in disbelief when Grace nodded her head.

Grace opened her mouth to defend her thirteen year old self's actions when she caught sight of the hooded black figures that flanked the gates leading out of the grounds. As they walked closer, a chill settled over her bones. She hadn't had to face a dementor since the train ride two months ago, almost forgetting the feeling that came with an encounter. Her vision started to blur in the corners of her eyes and her body shook violently.

The distant echo of Tom Riddle's voice seemed to be coming closer when Remus once again hugged an arm around her shoulders. Grace curled her face back into his side, trying to block out the effects of the horrible creatures. She refused to look back up as they passed through the gates. Even when the gates were growing smaller behind them and the shadow of Hogsmeade's first buildings loomed over them, Grace's body felt cold.

"How about we go splurge in Honeydukes like I promised?" Remus suggested, his tone light but not able to hide the worry that was still there.

"I don't think either of us have enough galleons for how much we want to eat," Grace commented peering around the town to see what had changed in the last two years. The only real difference she could notice was the wanted posters that were stuck on almost every shop window, allowing Sirius Black to leer at them everywhere they went.

"We may have to limit ourselves a tiny bit," Remus agreed with a hint of regret in his voice. Grace noticed that he purposely ignored every Sirius Black picture near them.

An hour later, Remus and Grace stepped out of Honeydukes, each with a bag full of treats. In the end Grace had managed to pay for half of what she bought, arguing with Remus about it almost the whole time they were in there. The chocolate that they had on sale there seemed even better than it was last time she was there. Even now she had slipped a piece of fudge out from her bag and was chewed on it absentmindedly.

"Where to?" Remus inquired.

"Anywhere," Grace answered with a grin.

They worked their way through the village's shops together, making sure to take a look at everything along the way. Grace remember to buy her Christmas and birthday presents while she was there, at least those not purchased in her trip in Honeydukes. Remus seemed content to wander along beside her, laughing at her excitement over the things she hadn't seen before. In all honesty the only places she visited during her first trip were Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks and an alleyway.

Along the way Remus did buy himself something other than chocolate, including spare parchment, a new quill and a bottle of wine for Professor McGonagall's belated birthday. Grace added to her bag, next to her own presents; a new fiction book and a bag of cat snacks for Bellus.

It was around six 'o'clock when they both decided to stop into the Three Broomsticks for a quick butterbeer before the Halloween feast. It was a sudden lift off her shoulders when Grace collapsed into a seat with her bags at her feet. Remus had left his bags with her while he went to get them drinks.

On his way back to the table, Remus threw a sharp glance to a wanted poster that was on the inside of the bar's door, sighing and turning away. There was no mistaking the disappointment and hurt in his eyes when he sat down.

"Is there something about Sirius Black you're not saying? You've refused to look at any of the wanted posters since we got here and when you did see one just then, it's like your hearts been snapped in two."

Remus' eyes widened in surprise; not knowing that she had been watching him. He blinked for a couple of seconds, completely unsure of how to respond. Desperately he cast his gaze around the bar, trying to find the right words to say.

"Well there is obviously is something wrong so are you going to tell me or not?"

"I knew Sirius Black at school," Remus said shortly. His eyes had finally come to rest on the wanted poster. "He was actually in the same year and house as me so we did spend a lot of time together."

"Like you had to spend time together or you actually wanted to?" Grace established.

"He was a friend of James and I's. There wasn't much we wouldn't do together. He matched James' mischievous side perfectly and the two of them wreaked havoc on the school, occasionally taking things too far. When I was with them I didn't think life could get any better."

"So what changed?"

"Sirius did. We were in the middle of a war when we left school and all of us, including your mother were fighting. It was a weird mix of finally being young adults in the world and having to fight for our lives to defend those we loved. It all happened so quickly: James and Lily getting married, Lily falling pregnant, you being born and growing up, Harry being born; all while the threat of war hung of us. Then, only a few days before your parents were killed, we found out that Sirius had been leaking information to Voldemort the whole time. Another friend went to confront him and got himself killed by Sirius. After that your parents died. A lot of it is a blur after that. Until I came here, of course."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Grace said softly. She was in shock for the most part but also just wished that Remus had told her this sooner.

"I didn't want to think about it," Remus answered truthfully, taking a gulp of his butterbeer. "Imagine if you were betrayed by Miranda, Ciara or anyone of yo0ur dorm-mates. Would you ever want to see them again?"

"No," Grace responded.

"Exactly. It's not something you would ever want to live through again."

Grace nodded but stayed quiet. There was really much she could say. She doesn't know how Remus feels. It's bad enough that she pushed him to tell her what was up. As glad as she is that he opened up to her, there was something about the way he was swishing his butterbeer around wistfully that made her wish she hadn't said anything.

"We should head back up to the castle," Remus suggested. "The feast will be starting now. If we leave now you won't miss anything."

The walk back to Hogwarts was silent. Grace was still struggling to process what Remus had told her. A betrayal like that would ruin her. How Remus lived with it she didn't know.

"I'll put your bags in your dormitory if you want to go join the feast," Remus offered once they were outside the open doors of the Great Hall, taking Grace's bags from her arm.

"Thank you," Grace threw her arms around Remus and hugged him tight. "Not just for carrying my bags, for everything. It's been an amazing day. I honestly can't thank you enough."

Remus stood still in her embrace for a second before he awkwardly juggled their shopping bags and returned the hug. Grace could hear the laughing and gossiping of students. She could smell all the pumpkin flavoured treats yet she'd prefer to stay right here for as long as she could.

"You don't have to thank me. I'm glad I can be here to spoil you like a godfather should."

Grace laughed loudly.

"If it involves chocolate, I'll definitely stay around to be spoilt."

Remus gave a small smile, hidden from Grace's view until he pulled her out of the hug and gathered up their bags. "Go on then. There won't be much pumpkin pie left if you stay around here."

Reluctantly, Grace turned away, swinging her head back to grin at him before she sat down in a gap between George and Miranda, taking a look at all of the decorations. There were hundreds of candle-lit pumpkins covering the floor, live bats were flying low over the house tables and orange streamers that were somehow on fire floating across the ceiling.

"Wow the decorations are really amazing this year," Grace commented.

Miranda jumped and George looked round with startled eyes.

"When did you come in?" George asked.

"Just then," Grace answered, scooping herself the last piece of pumpkin pie. Miranda continued to stare at her while George shrugged and turned back to his food. "What? Do you not pay attention?"

"Do you not make any noise?" Miranda retorted. "Honestly, it's like being best friends with a ghost."

"Well, I'm hoping I make better company then Moaning Myrtle."

The rest of the feast was amazing. Grace could never remember having such a great day in her life. Fred and George were jokes as usual, making her laugh to the extent that she almost spat out her water. Everyone was grinning when the ghosts finished the evening with some formation gliding and Nearly Headless Nick re-enacted his botched beheading to great applause.

Grace, Miranda and Ciara were amongst the first to leave the Gryffindor table, planning to pop open the bottles of butterbeer the boys had stashed in their dormitory. They took a shortcut through a tapestry to cut in front of a couple of sixth years and reach the portrait of the Fat Lady first.

As soon as they saw the portrait hole, the friends froze.

"What?" Ciara gaped while Miranda and Grace just stared.

The Fat Lady had disappeared from her portrait. It had been slashed so that strips of the painting littered the floor. In some places it had been torn at so violently that chunks of the canvas scattered all over the place.

The sixth years had caught up with them, grumbling for them to get out of the way. It wasn't until they had pushed past that they stopped dead in their tracks.

"Someone should get Professor Dumbledore," Grace murmured. Ciara spun on heel and sprinted away from them, passing Trina, Lara and Hannah with the boys on her way.

"What's going-," Lara stopped her question as soon as she saw the portrait, grabbing Grace's arm. Behind her Trina and Hannah had gasped; Trina burying her face in Oliver's chest.

Slowly the crowd built up behind them, each new arrival showing the same shock and terror. All the while, the third years stood at the front, being pushed and bustled but staying in the same spot.

"Let me through, please," Percy called. He shoved his way through the disgruntled Gryffindors to stand beside his brothers. "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."

"Ciara already went, Perce," Fred informed him from where he had an arm around Hannah who had gone pale very quickly.

A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was sweeping his way to the portrait, closely followed by Ciara and Professors McGonagall, Snape and Lupin. Grace turned around to see Harry, Ron and Hermione push closer to see what the fuss was about. She could see on their faces as soon as they figured out why everyone was so upset.

"What happened?" Harry asked, stepping closer to Grace. She shushed him, gesturing to Dumbledore.

"We need to find her," he said. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" cackled the voice of Peeves the poltergeist as he bobbed over their heads happily.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Professor Dumbledore said, not the least bit phased by the ghost. Apart from the Bloody Baron, the school's headmaster was the only one who Peeves would ever listen to. He wouldn't go as far as to be respecting but adopted an greasy tone of voice.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dropping between the trees. Crying something dreadful . . . poor thing."

The last bit was added on unconvincingly, not matching the happiness he was still showing.

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked softly.

"oh, yes, Proffesorhead. He got very angry when she wouldn' let him in, you see," Peeves flipped over this point, grinning horribly through his own legs. "Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

Screams and gasps echoed throughout the corridor. A fear gripped Grace. Not for her, really, but for Harry, knowing that the escaped murderer was after him. When she was looking back for Harry's reaction, she caught sight of Remus' ashen face. She tried to give him a reassuring smile when his eyes swept over to her but Dumbledore was already sending them away to the Great Hall. At that moment, Harry was her top priority.

For someone who had just found out that the murderer who's after him had just broken into his school, her brother seemed more concerned with how Sirius Black had gotten into the castle than anything else. As soon as Dumbledore had set up the Great Hall for them and informed the rest of the school what had happened, the conversation from the whole school turned to the same topic.

After assuring Grace that he was alright, Harry had dragged a sleeping bag over to the corner where Ron and Hermione were waiting. It was only once Lara had waved a hand in front of face that she turned her attention away from her brother.

"The day's been great so far, let's not let a mass- murderer Azkaban- escapee ruin it," Fred said. He and the rest of the fifth-year Gryffindor had pulled their sleeping bags into a lopsided circle near the wall, where Grace joined them.

"So, what?" Grace questioned, frowning at him. "Who cares if a mass- murderer Azkaban- escapee is one the loose? Let's just have a slumber party!"

"Great idea!" George exclaimed. "I like the way you think, Gracie."

Grace rolled her eyes.

"Besides, I get to cuddle with Ollie so I'm not complaining," Trina shrugged, snuggling closer into Oliver's arms.

For the next few minutes, they listened in to the whispers going around about how Black could have got in. They ranged from the simple ('maybe the enchantments aren't that good after all.') to the all-out ridiculous ('he must be able to change into a bat and fly over the Dementors.').

"Grace," George said in a low voice, scooting his sleeping bag closer to hers and ignoring his older brother's call for no more talking. "Don't worry so much. Dumbledore, McGonagall and Lupin are all out there searching for him. He'd be an idiot if he thought he could get past them."

"But he did, George," Grace said, barely louder than a whisper.

"What are you so afraid of, Gracie? If you think he's going to get you or something then he'd have to get through Fred and I first. Not sure about Jesse but Ciara can be scary when she wants to be. I'll even lend you the Marauder's map if that'll help."

"Thanks, Georgie," Grace smiled. "I'm just being an idiot. All of us sleeping in the Great Hall? We _should_ be having fun."

"That's my girl," George grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close.

**Again, sorry for the wait! Please review with any comments, questions or advice. **


	9. Come in With the Rain

**Ergh I hate writing Quidditch chapters. It's actually so hard, even Queen Rowling has admitted it. So that's probably why this took so long. **

**But also, I've been surprisingly social in the school break. Like, I thought I would have hours to sit at home and write. **

Chapter Nine: Come in With the Rain

"W-why are w-we even out h-here?" Grace complained through chattering teeth. The wind was harsh against her soft skin, freezing her to the bone. Even sitting in the lower bleachers of the Quidditch stadium, where the bleachers were high around them didn't protect them much from the wind. "We have been to almost every single training session since Halloween."

"Even the one on my birthday! Can't we just wait til the game this weekend?" Miranda added, pulling her cloak tighter around her chest. Her hair was whipping her constantly in the face.

"We should still support Hannah and Ciara," Lara protested feebly, struggling to ignore the cold that she was clearly feeling. "And Fred and George too."

"Yeah, I'm not really feeling up to supporting Ciara much anymore," Lee commented. He stretched his arms over the back of his chair, ignoring the scowls that the girls were giving him, and squinted up at the sky. "And it looks like it's going to rain."

"Ollie looks good in the rain," Trina said somewhat dreamily. She had her elbows propped up onto her knees and she was staring up at her long-time boyfriend. Everyone ignored her comment.

"Seriously, though, can't you two give it a break already?" Grace questioned, glaring at Lee.

"She started the argument!" Lee defended.

"You kind of stood her up for a make-up dinner though," Lara pointed out. "That was just wrong."

"Mate, you should just talk to her," Jesse said from where he was drawing in his sketchbook behind them. The girls all turned around with surprised glances, not used to him putting his input in group conversations. Once realising that he was helping their cause, Miranda and Grace grinned gratefully, Trina turned back to Oliver but Lara frowned at him curiously.

"Fine, fine, I will," Lee sighed. "I don't know what you're expecting. It's not like we're going to be best friends again."

"We know that," Miranda said. "The hostility is just getting a bit annoying. You're gonna have to live with each other so just put your problems aside."

Grace and Lara nodded in agreement, making Lee roll his eyes at them, before Lara turned her attention to something that was obviously bugging her. She swivelled in her seat to gape at Jesse's sketchbook.

"How are you drawing in this weather?"

Once Lara had brought her attention to the matter, Grace couldn't help but wonder the same thing as well. The paper was flying everywhere. It looked impossible to keep it down flat for more than two seconds. In addition to that his long fringe was falling into his eyes no matter how many times he swept it to the side.

"With difficulty," he grimaced, moaning when a drop of water landed on the page in front of him. The drop was quickly followed by many more as Jesse hastily stuffed his sketchbook in his bag. In seconds they were soaked through to the skin, the Quidditch team was virtually invisible and Lara was chasing her umbrella down the bleachers.

"That's it!" Grace cried. "I'm hiding in the change rooms."

Everyone bar Trina instantly stood and joined her as she climbed down the stadium, Lara having abandoned her umbrella. They had all reached the pitch when they realised that Trina wasn't with them. She had thrown her hood over her head and was still squinting up at the sky in vain.

"Trina, what the hell are you doing?" Lara screamed up at her.

"You're going to get sick!" Grace reasoned.

"Then you couldn't kiss Oliver," Miranda added her own voice to the shouts. "We're going to the room he gets shirtless in too."

Grace had never seen anyone move as fast as Trina did in that moment. She tumbled down to meet them; dragging Grace and Lara through the mud towards the change rooms, Miranda, Jesse and Lee trailing behind.

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Only five minutes ago the silent relaxation had been disturbed by the team charging through the door to the sight of their friends, stripped of their wet outer clothes. Fred and George eyes had almost popped out of their heads at the sight of Miranda and Grace trying to dry off their white shirts. They had eventually all gotten over the surprise of finding their friends in the change rooms, gathering up their things and deciding not to get changed until they had walked back through the rain to the castle.

Currently Fred had Miranda's cloak held above his head, attempting to convince her that she looked better in just her soaking wet shirts, to everyone's amusement. The team's captain was the only one not laughing as he shook water out of his hair.

"Oi we're not playing Slytherin," Oliver yelled angrily. "Flint saw me before training. We're playing Hufflepuff."

"Why?" everyone in the room chorused, ceasing their playful actions immediately.

"Flint's excuse is that their Seeker's arm's still injured," said Wood, obviously unhappy about the game's change. "But it's clear why they're doing it. Don't want to play in this weather. Think it'll damage their chances..."

His words were proved with an added rumble of thunder.

"There's nothing wrong with Malfoy's arm!" spoke up Harry furiously. "He's faking it!"

"I know that, but we can't prove it," said Wood bitterly, "And we've been practicing all those moves assuming we're playing Slytherin, and instead it's Hufflepuff, and their style's quite different. They've got a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory-,"

At the mention of the handsome Hufflepuff Seeker, most of the girls started to giggle, Hannah being the loudest.

"What?" Oliver frowned, looking to his girlfriend for explanation.

"He's the tall, good-looking one, right?" she confirmed, causing the girls to giggle more.

"Strong and silent," Hannah sighed wistfully.

"He's only silent because he's too thick to string two words together," said Fred, impatient with both the girl's antics and Oliver's concern. "I don't know why you're worried, Oliver, Hufflepuff is a pushover. Last time we played them, Harry caught the Snitch in about five minutes, remember?"

"We were playing in completely different conditions!" Wood shouted, his eyes bulging slightly. "Diggory's put a very strong side together! He's an excellent Seeker! I was afraid you'd take it like this! We mustn't relax! We must keep our focus! Slytherin is trying to wrong-foot us! We must win!"

All of the girls happy smiles died slightly as Trina placed a gentle arm on her boyfriend's shoulder.

"Calm down, Ollie. They are taking Hufflepuff seriously. And we all know you're going to win on Saturday anyway."

At her words Oliver calmed down slightly, allowing Trina to walk him out of the change rooms and back to the castle. Slowly everyone began to leave as well, pulling their cloaks above their heads for little protection.

"Ciara, wait!" Lee called, barely able to catch the Chaser in time. Quickly, Grace, Miranda and Lara left them alone with pointed glances. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"We're not getting back together if that's what you were wondering," Ciara said shortly.

"Good, I wasn't going to ask," Lee replied. "Come on, can't we just get along again?"

"Like the start of third year?" Ciara suggested. "A lot has changed since then."

"Well, yeah, I know how great a kisser you are now," Lee smirked.

"Hey!" Ciara defended indignantly, smacking his arm. Even so, there was a smile on her face. "Strange enough, I kinda missed your perverted commentary during training. Being friends does sound good."

"Friends," Lee agreed; shaking Ciara's outstretched hand. "C'mon, let's get out of here cuz I don't think you want your blouse to go see-through in front of me."

Ciara laughed, tugging her cloak over her head and racing away from the change rooms without another word.

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Friday afternoon, Grace waltzed in late to Defence Against the Dark Arts late, fully prepared for a carefree lesson of doing nothing. She collapsed into her chair, flinging her bag underneath her. Elliot widened his eyes and shook his head slightly at her when she gave him a wide smile.

"What?" Grace asked.

"Ms Potter, do you not realize that you are five minutes late to class. That should equal five points from Gryffindor," a snide voice came from behind her. Grace spun around in her seat to see Professor Snape standing over her, having emerged from the shadows moments before. "As I was saying before Ms Potter so rudely interrupted as us, defensive magic is much more than just pointing a wand and say an incantation. All of you turn to page 493 and read the chapter on defence and attack techniques."

The class went quiet as they opened up their textbooks and started to read.

"Where's Remus?" Grace spoke up.

"It is none of your concern where _Professor Lupin_ is, Ms Potter," Snape replied. "You are supposed to be reading. One more interruption and more house points will be taken."

"He's my godfather of course it's my concern! What's happened to him?" Grace demanded angrily.

"Professor Lupin is unwell at the present time and is unable to teach," Snape answered. "I thought I told you another five points would be taken from your house and so they shall be."

Grace scowled at Snape, opening her mouth to argue when Elliot rested a hand on her arm, "C'mon, he's not worth it. Besides you don't really want to lose more house points right?"

One glance at the table next to them showed Lara, Hannah and Trina frowning over at her. Her heart sank at their downcast expression. She was disappointed in herself for losing the few points but at the same time she couldn't help thinking of Remus and what was wrong with him.

"It's just . . . now I miss out on dinner with Remus."

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Grace was always thankful for the fact that she slept like a baby. Nothing could ever wake her up in the middle of the night, even when she had giggling room-mates or fell asleep during a party that the boys' had held. So that was why she woke up Saturday morning surprised to find that it had been storming throughout the night.

Thunder boomed across the school grounds. Wind whistling though the trees could be heard even as they walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Grace and Lara shared a worried glance, thinking about the game later in the morning. None of the team stood a chance in this weather to fly in a straight line, let alone play a full game. They escorted Hannah, Ciara, Fred and George down to the breakfast table and left them with the rest of the team, only pausing to make sure all of them were eating before returning swiftly to their dormitory for thicker coats.

"Well here goes," Grace announced, holding their gold and scarlet umbrella above their heads. She, Lara, Miranda and Trina dove into the rain. They clung together as they sprinted towards the Quidditch stadium, only to find that there wasn't much shelter there.

"Even the seats are wet!" Trina cried. Ciara, Grace and Miranda grumbled miserably.

Lee and Jesse came over and sat next to them, the hoods of their cloaks over their heads. The magical megaphone was still sitting in front of Lee but Grace doubted he was going to be able to use it today. There was no way anyone would hear him over the rolls of thunder. Professor McGonagall wasn't even there to watch over him.

A moment later, Hermione rushed up to sit in the seat on Trina's other side, giving them all a small smile.

"This is horrible," Miranda mumbled, scooting closer to Grace and the little shelter her umbrella provided. "Do we honestly have to sit through this?"

"I guess it's optional but you're going to be the only one in the whole school not at the game," Grace replied. "Even Madam Pompfrey is probably here and I know for a fact she gets her dinner delivered up to the hospital wing just so she doesn't have to leave."

"Hey guys, they're coming out," Lara told them. Her voice was raised just to reach across the few seats between them. "At least I think I can see some movement down below. Lee, that's your cue if you're going to bother."

Lee shrugged and adjusted the megaphone to the right position, leaning forward slightly to reach it, "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to your first Quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff. I don't know if any of you can even hear me but for those who can, that's the Gryffindor team walking out down there, led by Captain Oliver Wood. On the other side of the pitch is the Hufflepuff team with their captain Cedric Diggory."

"Hannah will be glad to see him right now," Grace whispered to Miranda, her eyes still trained on the players as they kicked off from the ground.

"Especially with him looking all sexy in the rain."

"How would you know? You can't even see him from here."

"I'm just guessing. Besides if the Gryffindor boys look sexy after training in the rain, I guarantee you Cedric Diggory does."

"We were right to be worried, Grace," Lara interjected, leaning in front of Miranda. "I think the wind has more control of their brooms than they do."

"Are you sure?" Grace questioned. "Cuz right now all I can see is shadows and nothing more."

"If that's what we can see," Trina started slowly. "Then how much do you think they can see up there? From what I can tell it looks like they're already flying into each other."

"How are we supposed to help them down here though?" Miranda said. "We can't control the weather and can't protect them while they're still in the air."

"There has to be a charm we can use once they're on the ground," Lara said, frustrated with the situation. She squinted up at the sky, raindrops falling on her face.

"Isn't there some sort of water-repelling charm?" Trina wondered.

"Impervius!" Lara and Hermione exclaimed at the same time.

"And that's the call for time out, made by Captain Wood of Gryffindor," Lee announced over the megaphone. "That's fifty – nil to Gryffindor."

Lara and Hermione exchanged a look of confirmation before speeding off down the stairs to cast the impervius charm. Trina, Grace and Miranda were left to watch from above as they worked their magic. In a matter of minutes, the team was back in the air, flying straighter and stronger than before.

"And they're off again!" Lee shouted. Grace was sure by now no one could hear him. "This is getting more and more dangerous folks. Ciara Archer of Gryffindor in possession, bit of rain won't beat that stunning girl, and she's down the pitch getting closer to the goal and- I think Cedric Diggory has seen the Snitch! He's getting closer to it but Potter's catching up."

Grace was watching the two Seekers draw nearer to the Snitch so intently that she barely felt it when Miranda nudged her arm and pointed down below, "Grace, I think those are Dementors."

Grace's eyes flicked away from Harry and Cedric down to the ground where about a hundred Dementors were flooding onto the pitch. The cold she was starting to feel wasn't from the wind and rain. Even from this far away, they were affecting her.

Taking deep breaths, she tore her eyes away from the horrible creatures to search for Harry in the sky. She could just make out his Quidditch robes in the distance, still flying for the Snitch. Then, all of a sudden, he slowed down on his broom, hovered for a second and fell.

Grace barely noticed the scream coming out of her mouth. Harry was tumbling towards the ground with increasing speed. Soon, he would hit the ground with enough force to break every bone in his body.

Unconsciously, Grace ducked under her umbrella, leaving it on the seat next to Miranda and ran down to the pitch, slipping on the wet stairs along her way. She looked up quick enough to see Dumbledore storming onto the pitch, his wand out in front of him. In one flick of his wand, he slowed Harry down enough for him to only hit the ground with a gentle thud and sent a silvery, misty looking bird flying off towards the Dementors. Grace had never seen him look so angry.

"Ms Potter," he said, his voice scarcely hiding his rage. "Would you care to help me escort your brother to the hospital wing?"

"Of course, professor," Grace replied shakily.

The headmaster conjured up a stretch and magically lifted Harry onto it. He kept the stretcher in front of them and began to walk back to the castle. Grace jogged to keep up with him, staring down at Harry's face in worry.

**Thanks for waiting! Please read and review with any comments, questions or advice. **


	10. Birthday

**I've waited for this chapter for a while now. I'm actually so happy about it. And now the story just keeps get better. I hope. **

Chapter Ten: Birthday

Grace sat in the chair beside Harry's bed, only minutes after he had been laid down there. The rain was still pouring down outside but the Quidditch match had stopped moments after Harry had fallen when Cedric had caught the Snitch. Grace had turned back quick enough to see it happen.

The doors behind her opened with a bang as Ron, Hermione and most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team entered the hospital wing. Grace could feel Madam Pompfrey's flare of disapproval from here. The large group hurried down the room towards her, leaving puddles of water and footprints of mud with every step.

"How is he?" Hermione asked the moment she was within earshot.

"Still out," Grace informed them. "He's got a couple of bruises and a concussion."

"Lucky the ground was so soft," Ron said.

"I thought he was dead for sure," Fred said. "And he didn't even break his glasses."

"Fred!" Ciara scolded. "Don't say something like that."

"How are you doing?" Hannah inquired of Grace, moving to perch on the arm of her chair.

"Why should it matter?" Grace frowned up at her friend. "Harry's the one who fell off his broom from fifty feet up."

"I meant like with the Dementors," Hannah corrected.

"Oh . . . yeah . . . I dunno. It wasn't as bad as usual I guess. I already thought Harry was going to die so how much worse could it get?"

"I've heard they're serving chocolate pudding and cake and pie for dessert tonight just to make sure everyone feels better."

A grin broke across Grace's face, dreaming of gooey, rich chocolate pudding. Hmm . . . she might have to leave the hospital wing for dessert after all.

"Harry!" Fred exclaimed, bringing Grace out of her daze to find that her brother's eyes were open.

"What happened?" Harry said, sitting up so rapidly that Grace had to place a hand on his shoulder and steady him.

"You fell off," said Fred. "Must've been-what-fifty feet?"

"We thought you'd died," said Alicia. Grace noticed for the first time that the Chaser was shaking.

"But the match," said Harry. "What happened? Are we doing a replay?" Grace scoffed. She shook her head at the boys' obsession with Quidditch. "We didn't . . . lose?"

"Cedric got the Snitch," said Hannah. "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. He wanted to have a rematch because he's that nice. But they won fair and square... Even Oliver admits it."

"Where is Wood?" Harry asked. He searched around like he was expecting to see the captain suddenly spring out from behind Fred and George.

"Still in the showers," Fred answered. "We reckon he's trying to drown himself."

"Either that or Trina's joined him," George smirked.

Harry leaned forward and put his head between his knees, gripping his hair tightly. Grace thought that he was in pain until Fred grabbed his shoulder, shook it roughly and said, "C'mon Harry you've never missed the Snitch before."

"There had to one time you didn't get it," George added.

"It's not over yet," Fred said before launching into a discussion on their chances of still winning the cup from how many points they currently had. Grace seemed to be the only one there, apart from Hermione, who wasn't intently focused on the conversation. She settled back in her chair, playing gently with Hannah's hair. Another ten minutes passed before Madam Pompfrey came over, shooing the team away.

"I'm gonna grab some pudding but I'll come back," Grace told Harry, getting up from her seat. "Is that alright, Madam Pompfrey?"

"You know you're always welcome," the matron smiled.

Maybe that was because Grace didn't bombard the patients with Quidditch talk like other people, although Grace just guessed that Madam Pompfrey liked her more than most other rowdy students. Either way, she left the hospital wing with clear intentions of coming back.

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Grace returned before bed that night to find Harry alone staring up the ceiling gloomily. Grace approached quietly, making soft footsteps on the ground before greeting him at the end of the bed.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Did you hear about my broom?" Harry questioned, gesturing to a bag that contained the broken pieces sticking up from under his bed.

"Yeah, I only just got told," Grace grimaced. She moved to sit at the end of his bed. "I'm sorry. I knew how much it meant to you." Harry nodded, trying to hide the pain in his expression. "Have you had any chocolate since the game?"

"Madam Pompfrey made me have some. I just don't get it Grace. Everyone always says how horrible the Dementors are but I'm the only one who fell off their broom or fainted on the train."

"Not true," Grace denied. "I fainted on the train too. Guess it must be a family thing, huh?" Grace took a shaky breath, feeling sick just at the thought of the creatures. "It really is horrible though. I mean I try not to remember Tom Riddle but every time I got near one of those _things_ I can hear him threatening to kill me again."

"You hear things too?" Harry asked. His face was a mixture of shock and relief. "I thought I was the only one. . ."

"Harry," Grace started slowly. "What exactly do you hear?"

Harry's hands were playing with a loose thread in the blanket fold in front of him. It took him a few more moments before he lifted his head up and looked at Grace.

"At first I thought it was just a woman screaming but then today before I fell I heard someone talking as well. It was mum's voice on the night Voldemort found them. I just keep hearing her pleading with Voldemort over and over again." His voice cracked as he spoke. Behind his glasses, Harry's eyes were glassy and watery.

Grace's breath hitched in her throat. Out of everything that Harry had gone through that was the worst thing he could possibly relive. She had repressed the memory herself yet there was still the nightmare filled with green light, a crying baby boy and a cloaked figure standing over her mother's body. Every dream always ended with a giant figure carrying Harry and Grace away from the only happy home she could remember from her childhood. Except, her nightmares rarely came anymore; Harry was still living his.

Harry didn't even see the hug coming before Grace had launched herself at him. Her arms were wrapped around his neck and his arms clutched around her like his life depended on it. It was almost awkward the way she was falling on top of her brother until she let go and moved up the bed to sit next to him properly.

"I've always had nightmares about that night," Grace revealed. "Usually pretty detailed too. There was mum, and you and Voldemort. I could even hear dad's voice. It was worst when we were at the Dursleys but somehow the second we leave, I can sleep again."

"No surprise there. Do you think it'll ever get better?"

"Course not. Not when they're not here. But it's not like all we've really got is each other. I mean, I'm pretty sure the Weasleys would adopt us in a second. And have you ever heard some of the stories Remus tells about dad?"

"No," Harry said, shaking his head.

"Oh man, there was this one time where some Slytherins were being assholes to mum and some of her friends so they snuck down . . ."

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Grace had ended up falling asleep on Harry's shoulder after countless more stories, including the first ever detention she had received and a few more of Fred and George's memorable pranks that Harry hadn't been there to witness. Their laughter had echoed towards Madam Pompfrey's office but she never came out to scold them. Harry was allowed to leave the hospital wing late Sunday afternoon, only once Grace beat him at Exploding Snap about twenty times and Oliver came to claim that it wasn't Harry's fault they lost the match.

It was with immense relief that Grace entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom early on Tuesday and saw Remus bearing the complaints of the whole class about Snape's awful teaching. He looked up and caught her eye with a weary smile. Once Grace was closer she saw just how tired their teacher looked. Even so, he managed to control their crazy class, teach them something and hand back all of their marked essays.

Everything seemed to be improving for Grace. Sirius Black hadn't been sighted since Halloween. Harry had recovered from the fall quickly and was about to start taking lessons from Remus to keep the Dementors away. Ciara and Lee were finally talking again, even back to their usual teasing banter. To make things even better, Christmas was coming up. Before that though, Grace was turning sixteen.

She woke up on the twenty fourth of November to all of her room-mates jumping up and down on top of her bed until she groaned and rolled away. They all shoved a wrapped up present at her, making her collapse back onto the bed. Grace tore the paper away to find a pile of her favourite Muggle fiction books. As soon as they had left the dormitory, Fred, George, Lee and Jesse jumped on her and gave her many boxes of Honeydukes chocolate and fudge.

The rest of the morning was as normal as it could get with Fred and George around. Those two definitely made sure nobody forgot it was her birthday. They took it so far as to piggyback her around the castle for most of the day. George was holding onto her legs and running as fast as he could towards Defense, ignoring the stares that were going their way. The whole class turned around, half of them cheering, when they burst through the door.

"Happy birthday, Gracie," Remus said with a twinkle in his eyes after the class had calmed down somewhat and Grace had found her seat. "Maybe you won't have to do quite so much work today."

Two hours later, at the end of class, Remus called Grace back for a second.

"I know your friends are probably waiting for you in the corridor as we speak but I wanted to invite you and them to dinner tonight. Ask Harry, Ron and Hermione if they'll join us too."

"Remus, you don't have to do that," Grace told him. "We'll probably just go down to the kitchens anyway."

"This way might not break as many school rules, seeing as I can provide Butterbeer without Fred and George sneaking out of the castle. And it gives me a chance to give you your present and show it to you properly. How about it?"

"It would be quite amazing," Grace agreed. "You should prepare yourself for Fred and George setting off fireworks though."

"That was always a possibility," Remus grinned. "I'll see you here at seven-thirty then."

Grace gave him a quick hug and raced out of the classroom. Remus was right in saying that her friends would be waiting for her. They all accepted the invitation to dinner, interested to see what Remus was like out of class.

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Grace, the twins, Miranda, Lee, Lara and Hannah strolled up the hill from Care of Magical Creatures laughing loudly at each other. Crowds of students were heading towards the Great Hall for dinner but the small group of friends pushed through them all and climbed up the stairs. Ciara, Trina, Ron, Hermione and Harry were already waiting outside the classroom for them when they arrived. Grace greeted everyone in turn, hugging them all before turning and leading the way through the door.

Inside the classroom Remus had moved the desks together so that they formed a large table in the centre of the room. A simple blue tablecloth had been thrown over it to hide all the crude drawings that covered the wood. On top of the table were candles, enough platters of food for twenty and a large rectangle parcel in front of a chair covered with balloons.

"Ah, good evening everyone," Remus welcomed. "Please take a seat."

The group struggled around each other for a second as they fought over getting seats. Fred made his way straight to Grace's spot, stealing the chair before she could reach it.

"Oh, look, a present for me."

"Shove, love," Grace said; pushing him out of her chair and taking it back for herself. "Didn't you know I was the birthday girl?"

"I could never forget, Gracie," Fred said solemnly.

Eventually everyone had settled down enough and sat silently, looking to Remus where he sat next to Grace.

"You can start eating you know," the professor pointed out, reaching for the roast beef himself. "I didn't put food there for you to stare at."

"Did you cook this yourself, sir?" Miranda asked from the other side of Grace.

"Me? The only thing I can cook is a steak," Remus said.

"It's a pretty damn good steak though," Grace said, making Remus grin. She had moved the present aside for now, deciding to wait until after she had tried some of the chicken pie that sat in front of her. They ate in silence for a few minutes until the food had disappeared enough for them to talk.

"Well this has turned out better than studying all night," Ciara commented.

"Everything's better than studying," Lee said. "There's not much that's worse."

"Have you not had detention with Snape before?" Miranda argued. "That is the worst way to spend your night."

"And you would all know so much about that?" Remus enquired. All of the fifth years exchanged somewhat guilty glances, Fred and George even looking slightly proud of themselves. "It sounds like Severus hasn't changed much since school then."

"Imagine having to go to school with Snape," Trina groaned. "I'm so glad there's no one life him in our year."

"Did you forget about the Callidus and Helena?" Lara opposed. "John too."

"We have Draco Malfoy," Harry said dryly. "You can't get much worse."

"I think the problem is just Slytherins in general," Ron shrugged.

"Alright, alright, let's start opening presents before I say something I regret," Remus advised to the sound of laughter. "Your present was combined effort from Harry and I with a little help from your friends too."

Grace reached under her chair to retrieve the parcel that she had stuffed there when she first started eating. Under the expectant gaze of all of her friends and family, she carefully unwrapped the brown paper covering a leather- bound book inscribed with golden lettering that spelt out _Grace Lily Potter_. Throwing a puzzled glance at Remus, she opened the front cover and saw an old family portrait of Grace and her parents the year she was born.

"Your mother started a scrapbook when you were a year old," Remus explained. "She included some of our school photos and their wedding photos then started filling it up with pictures of you and eventually Harry. The plan was to make one for Harry once he turned one but I don't know if she ever started that one. Yours has been in my possession all this time."

Grace flicked through the pages, smiling at the younger photos of her parents. Maybe people were right when they said Harry and her looked like their mother and father. There was a double page dedicated to their wedding, making Grace realise how beautiful her mother had been.

"Huh, I see where you get your good looks from, Grace," George observed, leaning over Fred and Miranda to stare at the photos for himself.

"James would agree with you on that one. He could have any girl in the school but all he ever wanted was your mother," Remus described, capturing everyone's attention, especially Grace and Harry's. "Lily was reluctant at first, of course, because your father was such a troublemaker. In the end though, she couldn't resist the Potter charm."

"You'll be pulling all the girls one day, Harry," Grace joked to her brother's disbelief.

Chuckling, she turned back to the scrapbook. The next page over was the first photo of her as a tiny newborn baby. It showed her development over her first three years, including when Harry was first born but stopped after that until there was a picture of her and Harry at his Sorting Ceremony. It was the same photo that she kept under her pillow at the Dursleys. After that the photos increased, with some of Grace and her friends in the Gryffindor common room and even more of Harry and Grace.

"Well, there's a pair of good-looking boys," Fred joked at the photo of Grace with the twins. The Fred from the photo winked back at him.

"Aw, that's so cute," Hannah cooed, looking to the photo of the Quidditch team from their third year, Grace standing in the centre.

The scrapbook still had many blank pages to come, obviously for Grace to fill on for herself. On the final page was a photo Grace didn't even remember smiling for of her and Remus.

"That's the best present anyone has ever given me," Grace confessed. "Thank you so much. I don't think I can thank you enough."

She gave Remus a long-awaited hug to a chorus of 'aw's from around the table. She laughed to stop the tears of joy from falling and moved out of the hug, with one of Remus' arms still around her shoulder, only so she could grab Harry's arm and pull him in too.

Hours later, after Fred and George had set off dozens of fireworks, chocolate cake was filling their tummies and the butterbeer was still warm in their veins, Grace tucked the scrapbook into her bedside draw. There was no way her life could get any better and right now, she doubted it would ever go bad.

**Well you know it's always calm before the storm. Please review with any comments, questions or advice!**


	11. Thanks to You

**Wow this was supposed to be a short chapter that I would write quickly. How did it turn into three thousand words? And I was going to finish it in the holidays too but that was over two weeks ago. I'm so terrible. Please forgive me? **

Chapter 11-Thanks to You

"Hey, Grace!" Elliot greeted from down the corridor, where Grace was leaning against the wall, waiting for Defense Against the Dark Arts to start. "Guess we're both early to class."

"Yeah, well, for me it was a choice between that and listening to Oliver Wood's Quidditch tactics," Grace grimaced. "It can't get any worse

"Nah, my friends were still excited over our last Divination lesson," Elliot said, rolling his eyes. "We were studying palm reading today. I think it is utter bullshit."

"Is that so?" Grace laughed.

"Grace Potter," Elliot announced with a mystical air, grabbing Grace's hands and pulling them closer to his face. "I foresee that you will spend the next two hours sitting next to a handsome Hufflepuff boy."

Elliot finished his predication by bringing Grace's hands up to brush his lips gently, making Grace giggle quietly. Elliot was just grinning at her with his grassy-green eyes when the door to their classroom opened beside them.

"You two can come in," Remus' voice echoed out from the classroom. "If you're going to be early then you may as well sit down."

Grace moved out of Elliot's light grip, trailing them behind her for a second before walking into the classroom and waving at Remus. Elliot followed her, his mouth open, but rushed ahead of her to pull out her chair before sweeping into the seat next to her.

"By the way, you were right about your prediction," Grace whispered into Elliot's ear, hovering there for a second after she had finished speaking. She leaned over the side of her desk to retrieve her school books and wand. When she moved to straighten up in her seat, she thought she saw Remus frowning at her and Elliot.

"Hey, are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" Nate asked, clearly not noticing Remus' stare.

"I have no idea," Grace shrugged. "I don't actually have permission but if I could, I'd go with you."

This time Grace was sure of it. Remus had looked up sharply from the book he was reading at her words. Maybe he was intending to take her to Hogsmeade again, even if she wished she could just spend the time with her friends buying Christmas presents.

"Well it is the last one of the year," Elliot said, still not paying attention to their teacher's stares. "I personally will have to spend all my time buying my family Christmas presents since it's only two weeks away."

As Elliot finished talking, the first of their classmates walked in from lunch, chattering away about Quidditch and the upcoming holidays.

"Hmmm . . . I should probably start thinking about that too," Grace nodded.

"Alright class, settle down," Remus called over the ruckus. "I know it's Friday afternoon but maybe we can get something done. I thought maybe we could do something fun though. Are any of you Gobstones players?" He was met with an assortment of groans and grumbles. "I know it's not that popular anymore but today we'll have a little competition based on it. I've made this set of Gobstones especially for this lesson. In your table groups I want you to question each other out of the textbook except now, if you get one wrong, these little things will squirt you in the face. Any questions?"

The class whispered amongst themselves, commenting on the game, some excited and some annoyed. Grace whipped her head around to smirk at Elliot and James, raising her eyebrows to challenge them. Elliot grinned back at her while James rolled his eyes behind Elliot's back.

"Good," Remus continued. "I'll hand out the Gobstones. Everyone get out their books and then you can begin."

It was only within the first five minutes that someone could be heard squealing at the amount of ink-like goo that was all over their face. Grace turned around to see Trina spitting the ink out of her mouth with Lara and Hannah laughing their heads off.

"Wanna bet that you're the first one to end up like that?" Elliot murmured in her ear.

"Oh, you're on," Grace smiled, swinging her head back around to find Elliot's face was only inches from her own. She looked down, trying to avoid the blush that she could feel spreading across her cheeks. "What incantation do you need for a Patronus Charm?"

"Expecto Patronum," Elliot answered smugly. "What else do you need for the charm?"

"The happiest memory possible," Grace told him, looking him straight in the eye. Neither of them had moved any further away from each other. "What's the Latin translation to the Protego charm?"

"Er . . . um . . . is it defend?" Nate hesitated.

Without warning, the Gobstone that sat on the desk in front of them squirted ink into the general direction of Elliot's face, which meant that both Grace and Elliot got a face full. They exchanged a short glance before both of them burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry," Elliot apologized, pulling out a handkerchief from his robe pocket. "But I'm going to have to blame you for that one. Your eyes are quite distracting."

Grace let out a loud laugh, keeping her head still as Elliot wet his handkerchief and wiped her face. Unknown to the two of them, the whole class was staring at them, including Remus. Grace's friends looked at each other with a knowing look before returning to their own games. Remus' however started to slowly move across the room, staring at Elliot and Grace the whole way.

"Hey, you do know I'm still here?" James said, interrupting the laughing pair who turned around to face him. Elliot's hand slipped casually down from Grace's now clean face to her back, and didn't exactly stop there.

"Grace, could you swap seats with Miranda?" Remus requested, once he had stopped in front of their table. His eyes flicked from Grace to Elliot to Elliot's hand resting on the small of her back. "She might work better away from the twins."

Three rows over from them, Miranda and the twins were covered in ink but it looked like they didn't care less. Fred flicked a great puddle of it over at Miranda, who moved just in time for it to land on George's nose.

"What?" Grace questioned. "They're always like that though."

"Please, Grace," Remus sighed. "Either you can move or Elliot can."

"_Why?_"

"_Because I don't really like the way he's flirting with my goddaughter_," Remus said quickly in a low voice.

Elliot's eyes widened at the same time as Grace's narrowed. In the blink of an eye, Elliot had his arm back by his own side and his chair moved away from Grace.

"Are you happy now?" Grace demanded of Remus. Her godfather opened his mouth to respond but closed it again at Grace's deep scowl. He avoided her eyes and walked back to his desk, where he immediately immersed himself in a pile of marking.

The rest of the lesson passed in awkward silence for Elliot and Grace. When James got hit right in the face with the ink neither of them laughed; Grace was still quietly fuming. When the final bell rang, Grace stuffed her textbook and wand into her bag, racing to the door. Remus was calling her back over the throng of students pushing their way out the door but she decided she couldn't hear him.

That night, Grace spent Friday night in the boys' dormitory for the first time since the start of the year. Around her everyone was planning their Christmas shopping at Hogsmeade tomorrow. Instead she sat cross-legged on George's bed, pulling at a loose thread on his homemade blanket, watching Miranda and Ciara laughing with the twins in front of her.

"You alright?" Lara asked, perching on the edge on George's bed next to Grace. "Normally you're with Remus on a Friday night."

"Didn't feel like it," Grace shrugged.

"Did something happen?" Lara continued gently.

"Nah . . . well," Grace hesitated. "He kinda told Elliot to get his hands off me. Even if it wasn't his right."

"You think he was being overprotective? Or just annoying?" Lara guessed. "Look, I'm not trying to justify his actions but Elliot's hand was kind of on your butt."

"Was it? I didn't notice." Grace looked up at her friend, startled. "Still, Remus can't just disappear for thirteen years then banish boys from my life!"

"I know, just give it some time. I think you should talk to him soon though and tell him how you feel. You might not be so angry about it in the morning. Speaking of which, are you going to Hogsmeade?"

"Haven't thought about it. Technically I can't go and sneaking out is harder with the Dementors there."

At the mention of sneaking out, Lara sighed and frowned at Grace.

"Aren't you ever worried that you'll get caught? I mean I miss you when we're out there and all but I don't want you to get in trouble."

"I know, I know," Grace acknowledged reluctantly. "Do you mind buying all my Christmas presents for me? I think I might stay behind and talk to Remus. Hopefully it won't turn out too bad."

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During breakfast on Saturday morning, Grace spent the entire time thinking about what she was supposed to say to Remus. She didn't know exactly how to ask him about Elliot and what happened without getting too angry. Part of her almost thought it was a silly thing to be angry about.

But then again she was just as mad at Fred and George when they were being protective over her with other guys so how was this any different?

Once her toast was finished and Professor McGonagall made the final call for all Hogsmeade bound students, Grace followed Miranda and Ciara out into the crowded entrance hall. The senior students were all milling down the stone steps, stopping by Filch as they were checked for permission. Grace stood in centre of the line going out the doors with Miranda and Ciara, preparing to make her way back upstairs after they left.

"Oh my god would they just hurry up?" Ciara complained, peering around. "I want to be out there spending all my money already."

"I just want a butterbeer and one of Madam Rosmerta's pies," Miranda added. "You sneaking there, Gracie?"

"I dunno," Grace shrugged. "I need to do my Christmas shopping but how the hell am I supposed to get past Dementors? I don't know if I really want to crawl through a passageway right now."

"Ms Potter!" Professor McGonagall called from the door to the Great Hall, gesturing for Grace to walk over. Afraid that the teacher had somehow heard what she had just said, Grace said a fearful goodbye to Miranda and Ciara and pushed her way past students to get there. "I don't know what you were doing here if you thought you didn't have permission but fortunately for you Dumbledore came to tell me this morning that you may go to the village."

"You're kidding, professor," Grace gaped.

"I'm certainly not," McGonagall said. Grace could have sworn there was a small smile on her face. "I'd suggest you run along and catch up to your friends."

"Thank you so much, professor," Grace said in a rush as she sprinted past the other students and skidded to a halt next to Ciara and Miranda, startling them. Ciara raised her eyebrows at her and opened her mouth to ask what was going on when Grace read her mind. "I've got permission. Don't know how but I do but I'm coming."

There was no mistaking the joy in Grace's voice. Sure, she had been to Hogsmeade before but never had she had this much freedom. For once she didn't have to sneak out or have an adult with her.

"That's great! Do you want us to wait while you go get your money?" Ciara questioned.

"Nah, I already have my purse. I was going to get Lara to buy my Christmas presents for me."

"Come on then, I want to see if there are any new records to buy," Miranda encouraged, starting to walk down the path towards the gates.

"What? No Christmas shopping?" Grace asked.

Miranda made a face at her. "Yeah that too I guess. George just said he wanted lollies for Christmas so that makes it easy."

"I haven't thought about it at all," Ciara moaned. "Merlin, why can't you just give people money and let them buy their own presents?"

Miranda and Grace laughed. After informing Ciara that they both wished it could be like that, they started suggesting various present ideas. When they reached the gates where the Dementors stood guard, Grace's breath hitched in her throat. Miranda and Ciara cast her worried glances until they were well down the road, where the colour began to return to Grace's face.

"You know that's one good thing about sneaking through the tunnels," Grace grimaced. "You don't have to face them."

Ciara looked at the ground and Miranda screwed up her nose, trying not to think about it.

"So what do you say?" Ciara said with false brightness, attempting to lighten the mood. "Get the serious shopping over with first or indulge ourselves?"

"Serious shopping," Miranda and Grace agreed together.

It took just under two hours to get presents for all of their family members and friends. Grace bought everlasting candles for her dorm mates that she tried to hide from Miranda and Ciara unsuccessfully. It was just her luck that she never managed to see what they bought her. Fred, George, Lee and Jesse all received a new package of No Heat Wet Start fireworks. Harry ended up receiving an assortment of sweets, Quidditch magazines and a miniature figurine of a hippogriff with a striking resemblance to Buckbeak.

Luckily for her, Grace had ordered Remus' present through the Daily Prophet weeks ago, after he had complained about his old watch breaking apart, otherwise she wouldn't have cared enough in that moment to get him anything.

"Madam Rosmerta's pies have never smelt so good," Miranda sighed in content as they collapsed at a table near the door already occupied by Lara and Hannah, who were surprised to see Grace there. Their numerous shopping bags were shoved under their feet. It didn't take long for Hannah to take pity on them and go up to the bar for their lunch.

"I thought you said you weren't sneaking out," Lara said to Grace. She sounded disappointed and disapproving.

"I didn't, I swear," Grace insisted. "Professor McGonagall came and told me I had permission."

"You don't find it the least bit odd?" Ciara inquired. "It's a great thing and all but . . . odd."

"Course I do," Grace said. "But I decided to just go with it. After all, term's nearly over. May as well have some fun."

"Speaking of which, what's everyone doing for the holidays?" Miranda asked.

"We were going to spend Christmas in Malaysia," Hannah said, returning with three pies and Butterbeers. Miranda, Grace and Ciara thanked her profusely, immediately digging into their food. Miranda, Ciara and Lara all chipped in that they were staying at home for Christmas as well, some through mouthfuls of food.

"I dunno what I'm doing to be honest," Grace said, stuffing another forkful of pie into her mouth. "Far as I know Harry's staying here and it's not like I have anywhere else to go."

"Nah, Fred and George invited you to the Burrow, didn't they?" Miranda objected. Grace paused in the act of having more Butterbeer to stare blankly at Miranda. "Well, they said they were going to."

For the next half hour they continued to talk about Christmas, organise to meet in the holidays and laugh at everything possible. Grace was collecting her bags and preparing to leave for another round of shopping, teasing Miranda about her laugh when someone bumped roughly into her on their hurried way out of the pub. She spun around to scold the person and saw a very familiar mop of black hair.

"Harry?" Grace called after him, chasing her brother outside. He didn't appear to notice her in his rush to the castle, oblivious to everything around him until Grace caught up to him and grabbed his arm. "Harry! What are you doing here?"

It was only once he turned around and Grace got a good look at him that she saw the distress on his face. It was a look of pure shock. The type of look someone might have if they just heard ground-breaking, earth-shattering news. _Something_ must have happened in the pub.

"Fred and George showed me where to sneak out," Harry explained, his mind still clearly elsewhere. He dug around in his pocket for a second and brought out a well-worn piece of parchment that Grace had seen many times over. "Have you heard of the Marauder's Map?"

"Of course I have but they _gave_ you the Map?" Grace gasped. "Just like that?"

"Yeah . . .," Harry trailed off, glancing over to Honeydukes, where Grace guessed he had snuck into the village through their cellar.

"What happened, Harry?" Grace asked softly. "Something did."

Harry quickly retold the conversation he had overheard in the Three Broomsticks about Sirius Black and his motives for going after Harry. Grace had gripped onto his arm again halfway through the story and only let her breath out when it was done but was barely able to find it again.

"But Remus said that you're godparents were dead?" she eventually said, still unable to comprehend the news. "So he was lying."

"Grace, Black was their friend," Harry said. His voice was shaking. "He was their friend and he betrayed them. He was their friend!"

"I know," Grace sighed. "Remus may have neglected to tell me about him being your godfather but he mentioned that mum and dad were friends with Black. That they were the best of friends really. He said it broke him when his best friend turned to the dark side and then helped kill his other friends. That's not any excuse to keep it from you though." Grace didn't realise she was crying, even when the tears were falling down her face. Choking out a smile, she reached up to wipe the wetness away from her cheeks. "Go on, you should get back to the castle. I have a few words I want to tell Remus."

Harry grimaced as he turned back towards Honeydukes, disappearing among the crowds of students coming the other way. Grace watched him go then started striding determinedly back to the castle, purpose in every step.

**Thank for reading! Please review with any comments, questions or advice. **


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